George Sutherland
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| George Sutherland | |
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| In office October 2, 1922 – January 17, 1938 |
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| Nominated by | Warren G. Harding |
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| Preceded by | John Hessin Clarke |
| Succeeded by | Stanley Forman Reed |
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| Born | March 25, 1862 Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom |
| Died | July 18, 1942 (aged 80) |
- This article is about the English-born U.S. jurist and political figure. For the Scottish-born Australian writer, see George Sutherland (author).
George Sutherland (March 25, 1862 – July 18, 1942) was an English-born U.S. jurist and political figure. One of four appointments to the Supreme Court by President Warren G. Harding, he served as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court between 1922 and 1938.
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[edit] Early life and career
Born in Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom, Sutherland immigrated to the United States with his parents in 1863 to join the community of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) in Springville, Utah. He graduated from Brigham Young Academy in 1881. Sutherland then graduated from the University of Michigan Law School, and was admitted to the Utah bar in 1883. He was known for his representation of railroads.
[edit] Congress
He served as a Congressman from Utah during the 57th Congress (March 4, 1901-March 3, 1903) and was a U.S. Senator representing Utah from 1905 to 1917. He was a Republican.
[edit] American Bar Association
Sutherland was also President of the American Bar Association from 1916 – 1917.
[edit] Supreme Court
While Franklin Delano Roosevelt was still Governor of New York, Sutherland wrote a decision upholding the constitutionality of local zoning ordinances, in Village of Euclid, Ohio v. Ambler Realty Co..
During Franklin Roosevelt's early years in office as president, Justice Sutherland along with James Clark McReynolds, Pierce Butler and Willis Van Devanter, was part of the conservative Four Horsemen, who were instrumental in striking down Roosevelt's New Deal legislation. Important decisions authored by Sutherland include the 1932 case Powell v. Alabama, overturning a conviction in the Scottsboro Boys Case because the defendant, Ozie Powell, was deprived of his right to counsel, and U.S. v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corp..
In United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind, Sutherland authored a decision using his vague definition of the Caucasian race with the unmerited application of the common man test that classified Indians as belonging to the Asian race, despite anthropological assumptions on the contrary. This ruling lead to Thind's being denied the possibility of naturalized citizenship.
Sutherland resigned from the U.S. Supreme Court on January 17, 1938, and died four years and one day later.
[edit] References
- George Sutherland at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Utah History To Go: Biography of George Sutherland
| United States House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by William H. King |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Utah's 1st congressional district March 4, 1901-March 3, 1903 |
Succeeded by Joseph Howell |
| United States Senate | ||
| Preceded by Thomas Kearns |
United States Senator (Class 1) from Utah 1905 – 1917 Served alongside: Reed Smoot |
Succeeded by William H. King |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by John Hessin Clarke |
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States October 2, 1922 – January 17, 1938 |
Succeeded by Stanley Forman Reed |
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