The Judicial Service of Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justices

Abstract:     
This Article examines the service of Supreme Court justices who, in retirement, have sat on the lower federal courts. Of the thirty-four justices to assume senior status, nine have sat on the lower courts. Justice Tom C. Clark, for instance, participated in hundreds of cases on the courts of appeals and presided in district court over what would become one of the Supreme Court's most well-known antitrust cases. The Article also notes some interesting aspects of retired justices's service: those occasions when the Court has reviewed an opinion by a former colleague sitting in a court of appeals; Justice Marshall drawing a crowd in the Second Circuit; Justice Van Devanter presiding over criminal work in the Southern District; and retired justices sitting on the courts of appeals with future justices, as when Justice Reed sat with then-Judge Burger on the D.C. Circuit.

Keywords: Supreme Court, legal history, courts of appeals, Justice Tom C. Clark, senior service

JEL Classifications: K1

Accepted Paper Series