Bruce Ditmas Bromley (March 20, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American lawyer and politician.

Life

He was the son of Peter Brewster Bromley (1861–1926) and Sarah Suydam (Ditmas) Bromley (1857–1936). He graduated from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1914, and then entered

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

, but left to serve in the

U. S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He left the Navy in 1919 as a lieutenant. He received his law degree from Harvard after the war, was admitted to the bar in 1920, and commenced practice in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

as assistant to

Henry L. Stimson Henry Lewis Stimson (September 21, 1867 – October 20, 1950) was an American statesman, lawyer, and Republican Party politician. Over his long career, he emerged as a leading figure in U.S. foreign policy by serving in both Republican and D ...

. He later joined the law firm that is now known as

Cravath, Swaine & Moore Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP (known as Cravath) is an American white-shoe law firm with its headquarters in New York City, and an additional office in London. The firm is known for its complex and high profile litigation and mergers & acquisitions ...

, and stayed with it for more than 50 years. While at Cravath, he won big cases for IBM,

Westinghouse Electric The Westinghouse Electric Corporation was an American manufacturing company founded in 1886 by George Westinghouse. It was originally named "Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company" and was renamed "Westinghouse Electric Corporation" in ...

Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succe ...

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

, ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'' magazine, and other corporate giants. On January 14, 1949, he was appointed by Governor

Thomas E. Dewey Thomas Edmund Dewey (March 24, 1902 – March 16, 1971) was an American lawyer, prosecutor, and politician who served as the 47th governor of New York from 1943 to 1954. He was the Republican candidate for president in 1944 and 1948: although ...

to the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the Unified Court System of the State of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six Associate Judges who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by t ...

, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of

Thomas D. Thacher Thomas Day Thacher (September 10, 1881 – November 12, 1950) was a United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, the 21st Solicitor General of the United Sta ...

. In November 1949, he was defeated by Democrat

Charles W. Froessel Charles William Froessel (November 8, 1892 in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York – May 2, 1982 in Manhattan, New York City) was an American lawyer and politician. Early life He was the son of Theodore Froessel and Barbara Froessel. He graduated ...

when running for a full term. In 1969, he appeared for the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

in the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

case of ''

Powell v. McCormack ''Powell v. McCormack'', 395 U.S. 486 (1969), is a United States Supreme Court case that held that the Qualifications of Members Clause of Article I of the US Constitution is an exclusive list of qualifications of members of the House of Repre ...

'', in which Congressman

Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Adam Clayton Powell Jr. (November 29, 1908 – April 4, 1972) was an American Baptist pastor and politician who represented the Harlem neighborhood of New York City in the United States House of Representatives from 1945 until 1971. He was t ...

questioned his exclusion from the House. Bromley died at the

New York Hospital Weill Cornell Medical Center (previously known as New York Hospital or Old New York Hospital or City Hospital) is a research hospital in New York City. It is part of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and the teaching hospital for Cornell University. ...

—

Cornell Medical Center The Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University is Cornell University's biomedical research unit and medical school located in Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York. Weill Cornell Medicine is affiliated with N ...

. A law chair at Harvard Law School is named after him. Among Bruce Bromley Professors of Law were

Arthur R. Miller Arthur Raphael Miller (born June 22, 1934), is a leading scholar in the field of American civil procedure and a University Professor at New York University and Chairman of The NYU Sports & Society Program. Early life and education Miller was b ...

and

Paul M. Bator Paul Michael Bator (June 2, 1929 – February 24, 1989) was an American legal academic, Supreme Court advocate and expert on United States federal courts. In addition to teaching for almost 30 years at Harvard Law School and the University of Ch ...

. The current holder is

William Rubenstein William B. Rubenstein (born 1960) is an American legal scholar and the Bruce Bromley Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. Professionally, he specializes in complex litigation and civil rights advocacy. He has advocated widely for the rights of ...

References

''The History of the New York Court of Appeals, 1932-2003''
by Bernard S. Meyer, Burton C. Agata & Seth H. Agata (page 23)
Court of Appeals judges
at New York Courts History

''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. January 15, 1949. (subscription required)
"The Law; At The Bar"
''The New York Times''. May 20, 1988.

''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

''. April 10, 1978.
Picture of Bruce Bromley
in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' on March 21, 2005
''Powell At The Supreme Court''

John F. Manning John F. Manning (born April 11, 1961) is an American educator and lawyer. Manning is currently the Morgan and Helen Chu dean and professor of Harvard Law School. Career Manning graduated from Harvard College in 1982 and lived in Thayer Hall durin ...

, "Bruce Bromley Professor of Law," at Harvard University
"Bruce Bromley, 87, Former Judge on Appeals Court"
''The New York Times''. January 30, 1980. (subscription required)

Life

See also

References

Further reading