Benjamin Robbins Curtis

Benjamin Robbins Curtis (* November 4, 1809 in Watertown, Massachusetts, † September 15, 1874 in Newport ) was an American lawyer and judge of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Family and Education

As the son of Lois ribbins and Benjamin Curtis, a freighter captain, Curtis was born in simple conditions. He attended public school in Newton and then moved on to study law at Harvard University. He was already in his first year on by winning a writing competition. During his studies, Curtis was a member of the fraternity Phi Beta Kappa. He was taught by Joseph Story and John Hooker Ashmun. His studies at Harvard Law School joined Curtis in 1831 and received his license to practice law in 1832.

Curtis as a lawyer and judge

1834 Curtis moved to Boston and worked as a lawyer. In 1849 he was appointed Judge of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts. He was considered one of the leaders of the legal profession of the state of Massachusetts because of his reasoning ability and persuasiveness. He was also a member of the Whig party.

On a proposal from Daniel Webster nominated President Millard Fillmore Curtis on September 22, 1851 Supreme Court of the United States. He was the first Supreme Court judge, who had a law degree. During his tenure on the Supreme Court Curtis wrote, among other things, the decision in the case of Cooley v. Board of Wardens, which is considered the basic ruling on the interpretation of the Commerce Clause of the Constitution of the United States and carries through to the present day. As one of only two judges Curtis graduated in Dred Scott v. Sandford not the majority, which the slave Dred Scott denied the release. As a result of this case Curtis joined in 1857 from bitterness about the outcome of his office.

After his retirement from the Supreme Court Curtis built in Boston on a successful law firm. He has appeared in the impeachment of Andrew Johnson as its lead counsel and negotiated numerous cases before the Supreme Court. His annual income was 1874 $ 650,000. The Johnsons offer to take over the post of Attorney General, he refused. A candidacy for the Senate of the United States failed in 1874.