Four Horsemen (Supreme Court)
As Four Horsemen of the Supreme Court, were based on the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, in contemporary American press, the four judges Pierce Butler, James C. McReynolds, George Sutherland, and Willis Van designated Devanter that from 1922 together on the Supreme Court of United States officiated. Characteristic of their joint work was a pronounced conservative political stance and from the beginning of the 1930s the fierce rejection of economic and social reforms of the administration of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the era of the New Deal. Vary the support of two other judges, they were able to put important pieces of legislation of Roosevelt as unconstitutional except force. The era of the Four Horsemen ended in 1937 with the withdrawal of Willis Van Devanter and George Sutherland by the Court and the appointment of successors progressively set by Roosevelt.
Personalities
When the judges called the Four Horsemen it was the 1910 by William Howard Taft nominated Van Devanter Willis, the 1914 proposal of Woodrow Wilson appointed James C. McReynolds, and Pierce Butler and George Sutherland, both of 1922 during the presidency of Warren G. Harding had come into office. All four were set very conservatively and consistently rejected the economic and social reforms from which were adopted by the Roosevelt administration during the era of the New Deal in response to the continuing since 1929 and designated as the Great Depression severe economic crisis. While McReynolds belonged to the conservative wing of the Democratic Party, were Van Devanter, Butler and Sutherland conservative Republicans. As an intellectual leader of the group was George Sutherland.
James C. McReynolds (1862-1946) In office 1914-1941
George Sutherland (1862-1942) In office 1922-1938
Willis Van Devanter (1859-1941) In office 1910-1937
Work
The Four Horsemen were in their rejection of the New Deal legislation of President Franklin D. Roosevelt the three liberal judges Louis Brandeis, Benjamin N. Cardozo and Harlan Fiske Stone opposite, so that in this constellation for the decisions of the existing nine-judge Court the voting behavior of the two judges was crucial that neither of the two blocks were allocated. Of these two, the presiding judge Charles Evans Hughes agreed mostly with the three liberal judges, while Owen Roberts often tended to the four conservative judges. Through the support of Roberts, or in some cases by Hughes succeeded the Four Horsemen, important legislation of the New Deal as the Agricultural Adjustment Act, the Federal Farm Bankruptcy Act, the Railroad Act, the Coal Mining Act and the National Industrial Recovery Act as a non- constitutionally be rejected.
The created through the interaction of the Four Horsemen conflict between the judiciary on the one hand and the legislative and executive branches on the other side tried to Roosevelt by a legislative proposal known as the Judiciary Reorganization Bill of 1937 to resolve in his favor. This bill would have given him the opportunity for each incumbent judge who is not retired at least six months after reaching the age of 70, to appoint an additional judge. Due to the age of four conservative judges he could change the distribution of forces of the Court in his favor in this way in a short time. However, the law did not materialize after the U.S. Senate referred the draft back to the Judiciary Committee. In addition, Roberts took place after the presentation of legislative initiative with its voting behavior in the decision West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish a change of course in favor of the New Deal legislation.
The era of the Four Horsemen ended in 1937 due to the withdrawal of Judge Van Devanter and the appointment of Hugo Black to his successor. Sutherland left a year later also the Court, he was succeeded by Stanley Forman Reed a supporter of the New Deal. Butler died in 1939, when McReynolds came back in 1941 for health reasons. In the same year one of the most liberal judges from Roosevelt to succeed Hughes was appointed in the office of Presiding Judge Harlan Fiske Stone with.
Historical review
In a notice published under the title "Rating Supreme Court Justices " survey of high school teachers for legal or political science and history, who carried out the law professors Albert P. Blaustein from Rutgers University and Roy M. Mersky of the University of Texas in 1970, were the achievements of George Sutherland with the second best ( "near great" ) rated five categories, while Pierce Butler, James McReynolds, and Willis Van Devanter were among the eight judges whose achievements in the lowest category ( " Failure" ) was classified. In contrast, Louis Brandeis, Benjamin Cardozo and Harlan Fiske Stone received as well as Charles Evans Hughes, the highest rating ( "Great" ) and Owen Roberts, the third highest ( "Average" ).
Bernard Schwartz, a professor at New York University, counted in his 1997 published book " A Book of Legal Lists: The Best and Worst of American Law," Louis Brandeis and Charles Evans Hughes in the top ten judges in the history of the Court, while James McReynolds and Pierce Butler filed among the ten worst. In 1998 under the title " Has the modern Senate Confirmation Process affected the quality of U.S. Supreme Court Justices? " By Michael Comiskey, a professor of political science at Pennsylvania State University, published study based on a survey of 61 constitutionalists included both the three liberal judge Louis Brandeis, Benjamin Cardozo and Harlan Fiske Stone and Charles Evans Hughes to the eleven judges who were rated with the highest of five possible predicates ( "excellent ").