I’m Mr. Beat. You're probably judging me right now. But that's ok! In this video I’m going to be
judging justices. That’s right, it’s a Supreme Court video! Heck yeah.
231 years ago, the Supreme Court of the United States sat down and met for the first time.
Chief Justice John Jay, as well as justices John Rutledge, William Cushing, James Wilson,
John Blair, and James Iredell first got together in the Merchants Exchange
Building in New York City, which at the time was the country’s capital city, on February 2,
1790. It was mostly just boring, procedural stuff. In fact, they didn’t even announce their
first decision until a year and a half later. Most of their early decisions in the 1790s
had little impact over the entire country. But over time, they would have more and more
influence on the federal government. Today, the Supreme Court yields tremendous power.
Members of the Supreme Court are called justices. Each justice gets a single vote in deciding the
cases argued before it. The chief justice facilitates things, which is why they get
the special title. Since 1869, there have been nine justices in the Supreme Court at a time.
These justices never have to worry about being elected. They can serve for life if they want
to. That said, many do retire before they die. I mean, I don’t think it’s a good idea to retire
AFTER you die. Anyway, if there’s a vacancy, the President appoints a new justice, but the Senate
has to approve of their appointment. Oh, by the way, there is nothing in the Constitution about
qualifications for justices. Heck, technically you could be in the Supreme Court and never
passed the bar or went to law school. There’s not even an age or citizenship requirement.
Before we get started today, this video is sponsored by Ground News.
Ground News is NOT a news source, but a news aggregator that gives folks a better
way to consume news featuring 50,000 new outlets from around the world. It has a Blindspot Report
feature that identifies the recent news events that received the most lopsided coverage. It also
shows you how the same story is being covered across the political spectrum AND around the
world. As a teacher and former journalist myself, it’s one of the most important news resources
I’ve ever seen. It has been used in high school and university classrooms as an invaluable tool
to help them learn about Media Literacy, Media Bias and social media bubbles, and how it can
alter their perceptions of the world. Try it out! It’s available for iOS, Android, and from any web
browser. You can download the Ground News app for free or find the web version at ground.news
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.
Since 1790, there have been 115 justices in the Supreme Court. Here are my top 10. But first,
what are MY standards?
I actually put together a spreadsheet to help me tally points based on my three
standards. Standard number one...did I agree with how they decided in cases?
If I agreed with how the justice decided in the case, I gave them a point. Granted, these are
cases I knew a lot about. Obviously I couldn’t look at every Supreme Court case in history.
My second standard was leadership ability. Did this justice have integrity?
Was this justice principled? Did they ignore partisanship and politics? Did
they have a consistent interpretation of the U.S. Constitution? If the answer was yes to
all these questions, they got some more points.
Now, does that mean this list is made up entirely of chief justices? Not necessarily.
A lot of times associate justices were just as influential in the Court as chief justices.
My third standard was impact. If a justice had tremendous impact in the direction of not only
the Court but of the entire government and even country, they also got points.
Clear as mud? Wonderful. Then let’s do this. Here are my top
ten Supreme Court Justices in American history. In my opinion, of course.
#10 Joseph Story
Probably most famous for his role in the Amistad (Amistahd) Case,
Story was a member of the Supreme Court for more than 33 years and was greatly
influential while there. He is also remembered for his opinion in the landmark case Martin v.
Hunter’s Lessee. It was during his time on the Court, from 1812 all the way to
1845, that its power greatly expanded. Story’s three-volume book Commentaries
on the Constitution of the United States was also influential in law schools across the country. He
was a staunch defender of property rights and republicanism. You may not have heard of him,
but several historians have argued that freaking reshaped law. I’m not storying you. True Story.
#9 Antonin Scalia
Yeah, this is probably my most controversial pick, as Scalia even today, several years
after his death, remains a polarizing figure. Scalia was a member of the Court for more than
29 years. Known as a conservative, “originalist,” justice, I would argue that he was actually much
more complex than that. Originalism is a type of judicial interpretation of the Constitution
that attempts to follow how it would have been either understood or intended to be understood
at the time it was actually written. Ok, sure, Scalia may have constantly praised originalism,
but in reality his interpretation of the Constitution was often NOT originalist
at all. This is a good thing, ok. I think he made lots of great decisions that were always
well thought out. Scalia was passionate, but not a partisan. He criticized supposed
allies just as much as he criticized supposed adversaries. That’s right,
he was a rogue. And also one of the most influential justices of the last 100 years.
Who is #8? Well, I’ll know it when I see it. Aw yes, there it is.
#8 Potter Stewart
Yeah, he’s the dude who said “I know it when I see it” when referring to obscene
stuff in movies in the case Jacobellis v. Ohio. Well despite that silly line,
I agreed with his decision in that case, as well as A LOT of cases,
which is why he’s even on this list. In his nearly 23 years as a member of the Supreme Court,
he consistently made the right call time and time again, especially for big cases like Mapp v. Ohio,
Katz v. United States, Loving v. Virginia, and Lemon v. Kurtzman. Stewart was a moderate voice
who often became a swing justice later in his career, meaning sometimes he sided with the
conservative wing of the Court, and other times he sided with the liberal wing of it. Overall
though, he might just be the most pragmatic Supreme Court justice in American history.
And similar to Stewart, here is another justice of whom I agreed with on many decisions.
#7 Byron White Another pragmatist, White
was a member of the Supreme Court for more than 31 years, from 1962 to 1993. Fun fact,
before he got into law, he was a professional football player. Yep, he played in the NFL
for one season back in 1938. He got the nickname “Whizzer” as a football player,
and that nickname stuck with him even when he was on the bench. Whizzer was one of the smartest
justices in Supreme Court history, but also one of the most humble. He was not ideological
at all, and it was often difficult to predict how he would decide in cases.
He seemed to truly view each case separately, which to me was a refreshing change for the Court.
#6 John Marshall Harlan
Not to be confused with John Marshall Harlan II, his grandson who also served on the Supreme Court,
this guy is another underrated justice who has only recently got some love. First of all,
he was a member of the Court for even longer than Joseph Story. 34 years, from 1877 to 1911.
Harlan was a constant voice of reason on the bench when reason wasn’t common on the bench.
He was the lone dissenter in the Civil Rights Cases and Plessy v. Ferguson. Heck yeah dude.
Taking a stand against racial discrimination and for the full implentation of the 14th Amendment
before it was cool. He also dissented in the case United States v. E.C. Knight Company,
which greatly limited the power of the federal government to carry out antitrust enforcement.
He was the first Supreme Court justice to call for incorporating the guarantees in the Bill of Rights
into the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment. No matter what the case,
he consistently held sympathy for the economically disadvantaged
and constantly justified the federal government stepping in when state governments acted up.
#5 Thurgood Marshall
He was good. Marshall is well known as the first African American member of the Supreme Court.
Many also know he had a rockin’ career before as executive director of the NAACP
Legal Defense and Educational Fund, during which he argued cases before the Supreme
Court like Smith v. Allwright and Brown v. Board of Education. But just as freaking important,
during his 24 years in the Court he was a champion of individual rights and especially the First
Amendment. Sure, statements like “You do what you think is right and let the law catch up,”
made it seem like he was nothing but a judicial activist, and yeah he certainly sometimes was,
but he was remarkably consistent with his rulings, generally erring on the side of individual
freedom. When it came to the First Amendment, he came up with a way to determine whether or not a
law against free expression was against it based on the opinion of its content or was simply just
generally neutral on expression. He also helped expand freedom of speech for students, as seen
with the landmark case Tinker v. Des Moines. He extended freedom of speech protections to
prisoners and even obscene material. He also expanded freedom of the press protections.
Throughout his entire career, to him it was all about shifting the
power from the government and institutions to the individual.
#4 Earl Warren Sure, I’m not a fan of Warren as a governor,
and I know very little about his time as the attorney general of California. However, I’m a
fan of Earl Warren for how he used the Supreme Court to transform the country for the better.
So many big Supreme Court decisions that had a tremendous impact on American life happened when
he was the Chief Justice, and like few others in American history, he was successful at convincing
the Court to unite. He was a member of the Supreme Court for less than 16 years, but he had
more of an impact than those who were there twice as long as him. Sure, the Warren Court marked a
bit of a liberal shift, but today we know it was a shift that was desperately needed. Big time
decisions here, and many of them were unanimous thanks to him. Brown v. Board of Education.
Miranda v. Arizona. Gideon v. Wainwright. Engel v. Vitale. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Warren wrote the majority opinions in many of those cases as well. He helped create a
due-process revolution of sorts, making decisions that led to more equality, individual dignity,
expanded criminal justice reforms, and more fair representation in state legislatures. Did he do
too much? Did he legislate from the bench? Well you could actually argue that for most Supreme
Court justices, so I’ll hold off on answering that. I mean, both liberals and conservatives
have given Warren love over the years, and hardly any of his decisions have ever been overturned.
He finally was able to get the protections of the Bill of Rights applied to state and local
governments, and not only that, got the Court united around him to do it. For that I thank him.
#3 William Douglas Douglas served as a member
of the Supreme Court longer than anyone else in American history. 13,358 days. Holy crap.
FDR nominated him in 1939 and he was still on the bench when Gerald Ford was President. Counting
them all up, I agree with how Douglas decided in most cases. If he was around today, conservative
critics might call him a member of “THE RADICAL LEFT,” by I think Time magazine was more accurate
back in 1975 when they called him “the most doctrinaire and committed civil libertarian
ever to sit on the court.” Civil liberties were indeed his thing. Like Thurgood Marshall,
he was a passionate defender of individual freedoms, especially First Amendment rights.
He was famous for being a hardliner on freedom of speech in particular, even defending hate speech
and speech that many argued led to violence. I love this quote by him. “Free speech has occupied
an exalted position because of the high service it has given our society. Its protection is essential
to the very existence of a democracy….[It] has been the one single outstanding tenet that has
made our institutions the symbol of freedom and equality.” Because he was very vocal about his
beliefs and often commented about politics, even aspiring to be a politician himself,
he was definitely a controversial figure who some in Congress tried to impeach. But you know what?
I mostly agree with his beliefs. There I said it. He was also one of the hardest
working Supreme Court justices in history, publishing over thirty books over his career.
Oh dang, we gotta another William. #2 William Brennan
Hugely influential, Brennan was a member of the Supreme Court for nearly 34 years.
Brennan was similar to Douglas, but more polished, eloquent, and well read. He had very similar
beliefs to Douglas, mainly with his push to expand individual rights, but unlike Douglas he was often
able to change the minds of his colleagues and wasn’t afraid to unite with the more, supposed
“conservative” wing of the Court, earning the respect of folks like Antonin Scalia. Because of
his influence, he colleagues often wanted him to write the opinion of landmark cases, like New York
Times v. Sullivan. Oh I still need to make a video about that case...and Baker v. Carr...holy crap I
don’t have a video about that one yet either? And Texas v. Johnson. Ok, yeah check that video out.
Oh, and I agreed with Brennan’s decisions more than any other justice in American history.
Way more often than not, he got it right. And finally….
#1 John Marshall aka Lil’ John. Yeah
I’ve always called him that because why not? So yeah, John Marshall is the most important
Supreme Court justice in American history. The most influential...by
far. There’s no comparison. He literally made the Supreme Court relevant and gave it power
when it really didn’t have much before he was there. Separation of powers and the judicial
branch competing with the executive branch and legislative branch? That’s because of him. He
remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longest serving justice period,
serving for more than 34 years. During his time on the bench, the Court greatly expanded the role of
the national government at the expense of states’ rights. It started with Marbury v. Madison,
the most important Supreme Court case in American history, which established judicial review,
or the ability of the Court to determine if something is constitutional or not. Later,
cases like McCulloch v. Maryland and Gibbons v. Ogdens dramatically shifted the balance
of power to the federal government. Marshall commanded power within the Court and drove that
power to the rest of government, and few saw it coming. And let’s face it, without Marshall
providing the foundation, none of these other justices on this list would even be relevant,
yo. Why do we worry so much about who is in the Supreme Court these days? Lil’ John.
So that’s it, those are my favorite Supreme Court justices in American history. Sure,
they all have flaws, but overall the United States is better for them. I know, I know,
y’all predicted Lil’ John would be #1, didn’t you?
In case you have forgotten, I do have a series about landmark and other important Supreme Court
cases called Supreme Court Briefs. Check out the playlist here. If you’re on YouTube. Otherwise
I just pointed to the corner of the screen like a crazy person.
Hey, a shout out to all the honorable mentions who didn’t quite make this list:
Louis Brandeis, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Anthony Kennedy, and John Paul Stevens. Oh, and hey,
I’ve posted my Supreme Court Justice Scorecard in the description of this video so you can see how
they all did. Keep in mind that it doesn’t have every justice on there, and again I didn’t look at
every case they decided on because that would be INSANE FOR REAL.
So what do YOU think? Who is YOUR favorite Supreme Court justice? Also, should I do a
worst Supreme Court justice list? Or should I keep it positive? I know that’s a lot of questions,
but let me know in the comments below if you could please. Also, apparently a lot
of folks regularly watch this channel but are not subscribed. Could you please subscribe? And
hit the notification bell? And like the video? I mean you don’t have to.
I can’t force you to, but I can at least stare at you and make you feel guilty.
Do it.