Stanley Forman Reed (December 31, 1884 – April 2, 1980) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an

Associate Justice Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some sta ...

of 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 ...

from 1938 to 1957. He also served as

U.S. Solicitor General The solicitor general of the United States is the fourth-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice. Elizabeth Prelogar has been serving in the role since October 28, 2021. The United States solicitor general represent ...

from 1935 to 1938. Born in

Mason County, Kentucky Mason County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Its county seat is Maysville. The county was created from Bourbon County, Virginia in 1788 and named for George Mason, a Virginia delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention ...

, Reed established a legal practice in

Maysville, Kentucky Maysville is a home rule-class city in Mason County, Kentucky, United States and is the seat of Mason County. The population was 8,782 as of 2019, making it the 51st-largest city in Kentucky by population. Maysville is on the Ohio River, north ...

, and won election to the Kentucky House of Representatives. He attended law school but did not graduate, making him the latest-serving Supreme Court Justice who did not graduate from law school. After serving in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

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 ...

, Reed emerged as a prominent corporate attorney and took positions with the

Federal Farm Board The Federal Farm Board was established by the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1929 from the Federal Farm Loan Board established by the Federal Farm Loan Act of 1916, with a revolving fund of half a billion dollarsReconstruction Finance Corporation. He took office as Solicitor General in 1935, and defended the constitutionality of several New Deal policies. After the retirement of Associate Justice

George Sutherland George Alexander Sutherland (March 25, 1862July 18, 1942) was an English-born American jurist and politician. He served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court between 1922 and 1938. As a member of the Republican Party, he also repre ...

, President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

successfully nominated Reed to the Supreme Court. Reed served until his retirement in 1957, and was succeeded by

Charles Evans Whittaker Charles Evans Whittaker (February 22, 1901 – November 26, 1973) was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1957 to 1962. After working in private practice in Kansas City, Missouri, he was nominated for the United States Di ...

. Reed wrote the majority opinion in cases such as ''

Smith v. Allwright ''Smith v. Allwright'', 321 U.S. 649 (1944), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court with regard to voting rights and, by extension, racial desegregation. It overturned the Texas state law that authorized parties to set thei ...

,'' '' Gorin v. United States,'' and '' Adamson v. California''. He authored dissenting opinions in cases such as '' Illinois ex rel. McCollum v. Board of Education.''

Background

Reed was born on December 31, 1884, in the small town of Minerva in

, to John and Frances (Forman) Reed. His father was a wealthy physician and a Protestant who adhered to no particular organized church. The Reeds and Formans traced their history to the earliest colonial period in America, and these family heritages were impressed upon young Stanley at an early age. At the age of 10, Reed moved with his family to

where his father practiced medicine. The family resided downtown in a prominent home known as

Phillips' Folly Phillips' Folly is an historic three-story brick residence in Maysville, Kentucky. The home's Antebellum architecture displays a blend of styles which may be explained, in part, by the home's speculative six-year construction period, which end ...

. Reed attended Kentucky Wesleyan College and received a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree in 1902. He then attended

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

as an undergraduate, and obtained a second B.A. in 1906. He studied law at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

(where he was a member of St. Elmo Hall) and

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, but did not obtain a law degree. Reed married the former Winifred Elgin in May 1908. The couple had two sons, John A. and Stanley Jr., who both became attorneys. In 1909 he traveled to France and studied at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

, where he obtained his auditeur bénévole.

Career

After his studies in France, Reed returned to Kentucky. He was admitted to the bar in 1910 and established a legal practice in Maysville. He was elected to the

Kentucky General Assembly The Kentucky General Assembly, also called the Kentucky Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It comprises the Kentucky Senate and the Kentucky House of Representatives. The General Assembly meets annually in ...

in 1912 and served two two-year terms. After the United States entered

in April 1917, Reed joined the

and was commissioned a lieutenant. When the war ended in 1918, Reed returned to his private law practice and became a well-known corporate attorney. He represented the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway and the Kentucky Burley Tobacco Growers Association, among other large corporations. Stanley Reed was very active in the

Sons of the American Revolution The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR or NSSAR) is an American congressionally chartered organization, founded in 1889 and headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. A non-profit corporation, it has described its purpose ...

and Society of Colonial Wars, while his wife was a national officer in the Daughters of the American Revolution. The Reeds settled on a farm near Maysville, where Stanley Reed raised prize-winning

Holstein Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...

cattle in his spare time.

Federal Farm Bureau

Reed's work for a number of large agricultural interests in Kentucky made him a nationally known authority on the law of agricultural

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...

s. It was this reputation which brought him to the attention of federal officials.

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...

had been elected

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

in November 1928, and took office in March 1929. The

agricultural industry Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

in the United States was heading for a depression. Unlike his predecessor, Hoover agreed to provide some federal support for agriculture, and in June 1929

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

passed the Agriculture Marketing Act. The act established and was administered by the

Federal Farm Board The Federal Farm Board was established by the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1929 from the Federal Farm Loan Board established by the Federal Farm Loan Act of 1916, with a revolving fund of half a billion dollars The crash of the stock market in late October 1929 led the Federal Farm Board's general counsel to resign. Although Reed was a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, his reputation as a corporate agricultural lawyer led President Hoover to appoint him the new general counsel of the Federal Farm Board on November 7, 1929. Reed served as general counsel until December 1932.

Reconstruction Finance Corporation

In December 1932, the general counsel of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) resigned, and Reed was appointed the agency's new general counsel. Since 1930, the

Chairman of the Federal Reserve The chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is the head of the Federal Reserve, and is the active executive officer of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The chair shall preside at the meetings of the Boa ...

, Eugene Meyer, had pressed Hoover to take a more active approach to ameliorating the Great Depression. Hoover finally relented and submitted legislation. The Reconstruction Finance Corporation Act was signed into law on January 22, 1932, but its operations were kept secret for five months. Hoover feared both political attacks from Republicans and that publicity about which corporations were receiving RFC assistance might disrupt the agency's attempts to keep companies financially viable. When Congress passed legislation in July 1932 forcing the RFC to make public the companies that received loans, the resulting political embarrassment led to the resignation of the RFC's president and his successor as well as other staff turnover at the agency.

's election as President in November 1932 led to further staff changes. On December 1, 1932, the RFC's general counsel resigned, and Hoover appointed Reed to the position. Roosevelt, impressed with Reed's work and needing someone who knew the agency, its staff and its operations, kept Reed on. Reed mentored and protected the careers of a number of young lawyers at RFC, many of whom became highly influential in the Roosevelt administration: Alger Hiss, Robert H. Jackson,

Thomas Gardiner Corcoran Thomas Gardiner Corcoran (December 29, 1900 – December 6, 1981) was one of several advisors in President Franklin D. Roosevelt's brain trust during the New Deal, and later, a close friend and advisor to President Lyndon B. Johnson. Early l ...

Charles Edward Wyzanski, Jr. Charles Edward Wyzanski Jr. (May 27, 1906 – September 3, 1986) was a United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Education and career Born in Boston, Massachu ...

(later an important federal district court judge), and

David Cushman Coyle David Cushman Coyle (1887–1969) was an American structural engineer, economist, and writer. Coyle was the structural engineer of the Washington State Capitol and a prominent economic thinker during the New Deal. Early life David Cushman Coyle ...

. During his tenure at the RFC, Reed influenced two major national policies. First, Reed was instrumental in setting up the

Commodity Credit Corporation The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) is a wholly owned United States government corporation that was created in 1933 to "stabilize, support, and protect farm income and prices" (federally chartered by the CCC Charter Act of 1948 (P.L. 80-806) ...

. In early October 1933, President Roosevelt ordered RFC president Jesse Jones to establish a program to strengthen cotton prices. On October 16, 1933, Jones met with Reed and together they created the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). President Roosevelt issued

Executive Order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of t ...

6340 the next day, which legally established the CCC. The brilliance of the CCC was that the government would hold surplus cotton as security for the loan. If cotton prices rose above the value of the loan, farmers could redeem their cotton, pay off the loan and make a profit. If prices stayed low, the farmer still had enough money to live as well as plant next year. The plan worked so well that it became the basis for the New Deal's entire agricultural program.Schlesinger, ''The Age of Roosevelt: The Coming of the New Deal, 1933–1935'', 1958. Second, Reed helped to successfully defend the administration's gold policy, saving the nation's

monetary policy Monetary policy is the policy adopted by the monetary authority of a nation to control either the interest rate payable for very short-term borrowing (borrowing by banks from each other to meet their short-term needs) or the money supply, often a ...

as well.

Deflation In economics, deflation is a decrease in the general price level of goods and services. Deflation occurs when the inflation rate falls below 0% (a negative inflation rate). Inflation reduces the value of currency over time, but sudden deflatio ...

had caused the value of the

United States dollar The United States dollar ( symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the officia ...

to fall nearly 60 percent. But federal law still permitted Americans and foreign citizens to redeem paper money and coins in gold at its pre-Depression value, causing a run on the gold reserves of the United States. Taking the United States off the

gold standard A gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. The gold standard was the basis for the international monetary system from the 1870s to the early 1920s, and from the l ...

would stop the run. It would also further devalue the dollar, making American goods less expensive and more attractive to foreign buyers. In a series of moves, Roosevelt took the nation off the gold standard in March and April 1933, causing the dollar's value to sink. But additional deflation was needed. One way to do this was to raise the price of gold, but federal law required the Treasury to buy gold at its high, pre-Depression price. President Roosevelt asked the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to buy gold above the market price to further devalue the dollar. Although Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau, Jr. believed the government lacked the authority to buy gold, Reed joined with Treasury general counsel Herman Oliphant to provide critical legal support for the plan. The additional deflation helped stabilize the economy during a critical period where bank runs were common."Stanley Reed Named Solicitor General," ''The New York Times'', March 19, 1935.Butkiewicz, "The Reconstruction Finance Corporation, the Gold Standard and the Banking Panic of 1933," ''Southern Economic Journal'', 1999; Eichengreen, ''Golden Fetters: The Gold Standard and the Great Depression, 1919–1939'', 1992; Wicker, ''The Banking Panics of the Great Depression'', 1996. Reed's help with Roosevelt's gold policies was not yet finished. On June 5, 1933, Congress passed a joint resolution (48 Stat. 112) voiding clauses in all public and private contracts permitting redemption in gold. Hundreds of angry creditors sued to overturn the law. The case finally reached the U.S. Supreme Court.

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

Homer Stille Cummings Homer Stille Cummings (April 30, 1870 – September 10, 1956) was an American lawyer and politician who was the United States Attorney General from 1933 to 1939. He also was elected mayor of Stamford, Connecticut, three times before founding the ...

asked Reed to join him in writing the government's brief for the Court and assisting him during oral argument. Reed's help was critical, for the high court was resolutely conservative when it came to the sanctity of contracts. On February 2, 1935, the Supreme Court made the unprecedented announcement that it was delaying its ruling by a week. The court shocked the nation again by announcing a second delay on February 9. Finally, on February 18, 1935, the Supreme Court held in '' Norman v. Baltimore & Ohio R. Co.'', , that the government had the power to abrogate private contracts but not public ones. However, the majority said that since there had been no showing that contractors with the federal government had been harmed, no payments would be made.

Solicitor General

Reed's invaluable assistance in defending the federal government's interests in "the

Gold Clause Cases The ''Gold Clause Cases'' were a series of actions brought before the Supreme Court of the United States, in which the court narrowly upheld restrictions on the ownership of gold implemented by the administration of U.S. President Franklin D. Ro ...

" led Roosevelt to appoint him Solicitor General. J. Crawford Biggs, the incumbent Solicitor General, was generally considered ineffective if not incompetent (he had lost 10 of the 17 cases he argued in his first five months in office). Biggs resigned on March 14, 1935. Reed was named his replacement on March 18 and confirmed by the Senate on March 25. He was confronted by an office in chaos. Several major challenges to the

National Industrial Recovery Act The National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 (NIRA) was a US labor law and consumer law passed by the 73rd US Congress to authorize the president to regulate industry for fair wages and prices that would stimulate economic recovery. It also ...

—considered the cornerstone of the New Deal—were reaching the Supreme Court, and Reed was forced to drop the appeals because the Office of the Solicitor General was unprepared to argue them. Reed worked quickly to restore order, and subsequent briefs were noted for their strong legal argument and extensive research. Reed soon brought before the high court appeals of the constitutionality of the

Agricultural Adjustment Act The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) was a United States federal law of the New Deal era designed to boost agricultural prices by reducing surpluses. The government bought livestock for slaughter and paid farmers subsidies not to plant on par ...

, Securities Act of 1933, Social Security Act, National Labor Relations Act, Bankhead Cotton Control Act,

Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA), also known as the Wheeler-Rayburn Act, was a US federal law giving the Securities and Exchange Commission authority to regulate, license, and break up electric utility holding companies. It l ...

, Guffey Coal Control Act,

Bituminous Coal Conservation Act of 1935 The Guffey-Snyder Coal Act was a law, officially known as the Bituminous Coal Conservation Act of 1935, passed in the United States in 1935 under Franklin D. Roosevelt as part of his New Deal. It created the Bituminous Coal Commission to set the ...

and the enabling act for the

Tennessee Valley Authority The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolin ...

, and revived the battle over the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA). The press of appeals was so great that Reed argued six major cases before the Supreme Court in two weeks. On December 10, 1935, he collapsed from exhaustion during oral argument before the Court. Reed lost a number of these cases, including ''

Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States ''A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States'', 295 U.S. 495 (1935), was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States that invalidated regulations of the poultry industry according to the nondelegation doctrine and as an invalid use ...

'', (invalidating the National Industrial Recovery Act) and '' United States v. Butler'', (invalidating the Agricultural Adjustment Act).Schlesinger, ''The Age of Roosevelt: The Politics of Upheaval, 1935–1936'', 1960.Hoffer, Hoffer, Hull and Hull, ''The Supreme Court: An Essential History'', 2007.Jost, ''The Supreme Court A-Z'', 1998. 1937 proved to be a banner year for the Solicitor General. Reed argued and won such major cases as ''

West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish ''West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish'', 300 U.S. 379 (1937), was a decision by the United States Supreme Court upholding the constitutionality of state minimum wage legislation. The court's decision overturned an earlier holding in ''Adkins v. Child ...

'', (upholding minimum wage laws), '' National Labor Relations Board v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation'', (upholding the National Labor Relations Act), and ''

Steward Machine Company v. Davis ''Steward Machine Company v. Davis'', 301 U.S. 548 (1937), was a case in which the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the unemployment compensation provisions of the Social Security Act of 1935, which established the federal taxing structure that was des ...

'', (upholding the taxing power of the Social Security Act). By the end of 1937, Reed was winning most of his economic cases and had a reputation as being one of the strongest Solicitors General since the creation of the office in 1870.

Supreme Court

Nomination and confirmation

On January 15, 1938, President Roosevelt nominated Reed as an

associate justice Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some sta ...

on the Supreme Court of the United States to succeed retiring justice

. Many in the nation's capital worried about the nomination fight.

Willis Van Devanter Willis Van Devanter (April 17, 1859 – February 8, 1941) was an American lawyer who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1911 to 1937. He was a staunch conservative and was regarded as a part of the Four ...

, one of the Court's conservative "

Four Horsemen The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are figures in the Christian scriptures, first appearing in the Book of Revelation, a piece of apocalypse literature written by John of Patmos. Revelation 6 tells of a book or scroll in God's right hand tha ...

," had retired the previous summer. Roosevelt had nominated Senator Hugo Black as his replacement, and Black's nomination battle proved to be a long (seven days) and bitter one. To the relief of many, Reed's nomination was swift and generated little debate in the Senate. He was confirmed on January 25, 1938, and sworn into office on January 31. His successor as Solicitor General was Robert H. Jackson. Reed is the last person to serve as a Supreme Court Justice without possessing a law degree. Stanley Reed spent 19 years on the Supreme Court. Within two years, he was joined on the bench by his mentor,

Felix Frankfurter Felix Frankfurter (November 15, 1882 – February 22, 1965) was an Austrian-American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1939 until 1962, during which period he was a noted advocate of judic ...

, and his protégé, Robert H. Jackson. Reed and

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

held very similar views on national security issues and often voted together. Reed and Frankfurter also held similar views, and Frankfurter usually concurred with Reed. However, the two had significantly different writing styles, as Frankfurter offered lengthy, professorial discussions of the law, whereas Reed wrote terse opinions keeping to the facts of the case.Fassett, "The Buddha and the Bumblebee: The Saga of Stanley Reed and Felix Frankfurter," ''Journal of Supreme Court History'', July 2003. Reed was considered a moderate and often provided the critical fifth vote in split rulings. He authored more than 300 opinions, and Chief Justice

Warren Burger Warren Earl Burger (September 17, 1907 – June 25, 1995) was an American attorney and jurist who served as the 15th chief justice of the United States from 1969 to 1986. Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Burger graduated from the St. Paul Colleg ...

said "he wrote with clarity and firmness...." Reed was an economic progressive, and generally supported racial desegregation, civil liberties,

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

rights and economic regulation. On free speech, national security and certain social issues, however, Reed was generally a conservative. He often approved of federal (but not state or local) restrictions on civil liberties. Reed also opposed applying the

Bill of Rights A bill of rights, sometimes called a declaration of rights or a charter of rights, is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose is to protect those rights against infringement from public officials and pr ...

to the states via the 14th Amendment.

Opinions

Among Reed's more notable decisions are: *'' United States v. Rock Royal Cooperative, Inc.,'' – This was one of the first cases in which Reed wrote the majority opinion. The case was especially important to Reed because of his prior career as an attorney for agricultural cooperatives (Rock Royal was a milk producers co-op). Reed stuck closely to the facts in the case, quoting at length from the statute, regulations and agency order. *'' Gorin v. United States,'' – Upheld several aspects of the

Espionage Act of 1917 The Espionage Act of 1917 is a United States federal law enacted on June 15, 1917, shortly after the United States entered World War I. It has been amended numerous times over the years. It was originally found in Title 50 of the U.S. Code (War ...

*''

,'' – In 1935, a unanimous Supreme Court in '' Grovey v. Townsend'', , had held that political parties in Texas did not violate the constitutional rights of

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

citizens by denying them the right to vote in a primary election. But in ''Smith v. Allwright'', the issue came before the Court again. This time, the plaintiff alleged that the state, not the political party, had denied black citizens the right to vote. In an 8-to-1 decision authored by Reed, the Supreme Court overruled ''Grovey'' as wrongly decided. In ringing terms, Reed dismissed the state action question and declared that "the Court throughout its history has freely exercised its power to reexamine the basis of its constitutional decisions." The lone dissenter was Justice Roberts, who had written the majority opinion nine years earlier in ''Grovey.'' *'' Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia,'' – In a 7-to-1 ruling, Reed applied the undue burden standard to a Virginia law which required

separate but equal Separate but equal was a legal doctrine in United States constitutional law, according to which racial segregation did not necessarily violate the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which nominally guaranteed "equal protec ...

racial segregation Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crimes against hum ...

in public transportation. Reed found that the law created an undue burden because uniformity of law was essential in certain interstate activities, such as transportation. *'' Adamson v. California,'' – Adamson was charged with murder but chose not to testify because he knew the prosecutor would ask him about his prior criminal record. Adamson argued that, because the prosecutor had drawn attention to his refusal to testify, Adamson's freedom against self-incrimination had been violated. Reed wrote that the rights guaranteed under the Fourteenth Amendment did not extend the protections of the Fifth Amendment to state courts. Reed felt that the framers of the Fourteenth Amendment did not intend to apply the Bill of Rights to states without limitation. *'' Illinois ex rel. McCollum v. Board of Education,'' – Reed said he was proudest of his dissent in ''Illinois ex rel. McCollum v. Board of Education.'' The ruling was the first to declare that a state had violated the

Establishment Clause In United States law, the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, together with that Amendment's Free Exercise Clause, form the constitutional right of freedom of religion. The relevant constitutional text ...

. Reed disliked the phrase "wall of separation between church and state," and his dissent contains his famous dictum about the phrase: "A rule of law should not be drawn from a figure of speech." *'' Pennekamp v. Florida,'' – Reed authored this majority opinion for a court which confronted the issue of whether judges could censor newspapers for impugning the reputation of the courts. The '' Miami Herald'' newspaper had published two editorials and a cartoon criticizing a Florida court's actions in a pending trial. The judge cited the publisher and editors for

contempt Contempt is a pattern of attitudes and behaviour, often towards an individual or a group, but sometimes towards an ideology, which has the characteristics of disgust and anger. The word originated in 1393 in Old French contempt, contemps, ...

, claiming that the published material maligned the integrity of the court and thereby interfered with the fair administration of justice. Hewing closely to the facts in the case, Reed used the

clear and present danger ''Clear and Present Danger'' is a political thriller novel, written by Tom Clancy and published on August 17, 1989. A sequel to '' The Cardinal of the Kremlin'' (1988), main character Jack Ryan becomes acting Deputy Director of Intelligence in ...

test to come down firmly on the side of

freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recog ...

. *''

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segrega ...

,'' – This was recognized as a critical case even before it reached the Supreme Court. Chief Justice Earl Warren, realizing how controversial the case would be for the public, very much wanted to avoid any dissents in the case, but Reed was the lone hold-out. Other members of the Supreme Court worried about Reed's commitment to civil rights, as he was a member of the (then) all-white

Burning Tree Club Burning Tree Club is a private, all-male golf club in Bethesda, Maryland. The course at Burning Tree has been played by numerous presidents, foreign dignitaries, high-ranking executive officials, members of Congress, and military leaders. The co ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and his Kentucky home had an all-white restrictive covenant (a covenant which had led Reed to

recuse Judicial disqualification, also referred to as recusal, is the act of abstaining from participation in an official action such as a legal proceeding due to a conflict of interest of the presiding court official or administrative officer. Applica ...

himself from a civil rights case in 1948). Nonetheless, Reed had written the majority decision in ''

'' and joined the majority in '' Sweatt v. Painter'', , which barred separate but equal racial segregation in law schools. Reed originally planned to write a dissent in ''Brown'', but joined the majority before a decision was issued. Many observers, including Chief Justice Warren, believed a unanimous decision in ''Brown'' was necessary to win public acceptance for the decision. Reed reportedly cried during the reading of the opinion.

Hiss case

Reed's fame and notoriety did not stem solely from his judicial rulings, however. In 1949, Reed was caught up in the Alger Hiss case. Hiss, one of Reed and Frankfurter's protégés, was accused of

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

in August 1948. Hiss was tried in June 1949. Hiss's attorneys subpoenaed both Reed and Frankfurter. Although Reed ethically objected to having a sitting Associate Justice of the Supreme Court testify in a legal proceeding, he agreed to do so once he was subpoenaed. A number of observers strongly denounced Reed for refusing to disobey the subpoena.

Dissents and retirement

By the mid-1950s, Justice Reed was dissenting more and more frequently from court rulings. His first full dissent had come in 1939, nearly a year after his tenure on the court began. Initially, his dissents "were only when, with Hughes, Brandeis, Stone or Roberts—like himself, lawyers of deep experience—he could not go along with what he considered the judge-made amendments of the Constitution implicit in the opinions of Hugo Black,

William O. Douglas William Orville Douglas (October 16, 1898January 19, 1980) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who was known for his strong progressive and civil libertarian views, and is often ci ...

and

Frank Murphy William Francis Murphy (April 13, 1890July 19, 1949) was an American politician, lawyer and jurist from Michigan. He was a Democrat who was named to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1940 after a political career that included serving ...

, whom Roosevelt had sent to follow Black and Reed on the court." But by 1955, Reed was dissenting much more frequently. Reed began to feel that the Court's jurisprudential center had shifted too far away from him and that he was losing his effectiveness.

Retirement

Stanley Reed retired from the Supreme Court on February 25, 1957, citing old age. He was 73 years old.

was appointed his successor. Reed led a fairly active retirement. In November 1957, President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

asked Reed to chair the newly formed

United States Commission on Civil Rights The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (CCR) is a bipartisan, independent commission of the United States federal government, created by the Civil Rights Act of 1957 during the Eisenhower administration, that is charged with the responsibility fo ...

. Eisenhower announced the nomination on November 7, but Reed turned down the nomination on December 3. Reed cited the impropriety of having a former Associate Justice sit on such a political body. But some media reports indicated that his appointment would have been opposed by civil rights activists, who felt Reed was not sufficiently progressive. Reed did, however, continue to serve the federal judiciary in a number of ways. For several years, he served as a temporary judge on a number of lower federal courts, particularly in the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

. He also served in special capacities where judicial experience was needed, such as boundary disputes between states. In 1958 he was elected as a hereditary member of the New Jersey Society of the Cincinnati by right of his descent from Colonel

David Forman David Forman is an English actor, stuntman, puppeteer and internet entrepreneur who has played several suit roles in Jim Henson's Creature Shop, notably as the character of Leonardo in the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' film (1990). He also s ...

Death

Increasingly frail and often ill, Stanley Reed and his wife lived at the Hilaire Nursing Home in Huntington, New York for the last few years of their lives. Reed died there on April 2, 1980. He was survived by his wife and sons. He was interred in

. Although he retired eighteen years before

, Reed outlived him by two months and was the last living Justice appointed by

, and the last living justice to have served on the

Hughes Court The Hughes Court refers to the Supreme Court of the United States from 1930 to 1941, when Charles Evans Hughes served as Chief Justice of the United States. Hughes succeeded William Howard Taft as Chief Justice after the latter's retirement, an ...

, Stone Court and

Vinson Court The Vinson Court refers to the Supreme Court of the United States from 1946 to 1953, when Fred M. Vinson served as Chief Justice of the United States. Vinson succeeded Harlan F. Stone as Chief Justice after the latter's death, and Vinson served ...

Legacy

An extensive collection of Reed's personal and official papers, including his Supreme Court files, is archived at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...

in Lexington, where they are open for research.

Quotations

*"The United States is a constitutional democracy. Its organic law grants to all citizens a right to participate in the choice of elected officials without restriction by any state because of race." – ''Smith v. Allwright'', 321 U.S. 649 (1944) *"There is a recognized abstract principle, however, that may be taken as a postulate for testing whether particular state legislation in the absence of action by Congress is beyond state power. This is that the state legislation is invalid if it unduly burdens that commerce in matters where uniformity is necessary—necessary in the constitutional sense of useful in accomplishing a permitted purpose." – ''Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia'', 328 U.S. 373 (1946) *"Freedom of discussion should be given the widest possible range compatible with the essential requirement of the fair and orderly administration of justice. ... That a judge might be influenced by a desire to placate the accusing newspaper to retain public esteem and secure reelection at the cost of unfair rulings against an accused is too remote a possibility to be considered a

to justice." – ''Pennekamp v. Florida'', 328 U.S. 331 (1946) *"A rule of law should not be drawn from a figure of speech." – ''Illinois ex rel. McCollum v. Board of Education'', 333 U.S. 203 (1948) (commenting on the phrase "wall of separation between church and state") *"Philosophers and poets, thinkers of high and low degree from every age and race have sought to expound the meaning of virtue, but each teaches his own conception of the moral excellence that satisfies standards of good conduct. Are the tests of the Puritan or the Cavalier to be applied, those of the city or the farm, the Christian or non-Christian, the old or the young? Does the Bill of Rights permit Illinois to forbid any reflection on the virtue of racial or religious classes which a jury or a judge may think exposes them to derision or obloquy, words themselves of quite uncertain meaning as used in the statute? I think not." – ''Beauharnais v. Illinois'', 343 U.S. 250 (1952)

Law clerks

David M. Becker David M. Becker is an American lawyer and a partner of Cleary Gottlieb. He was twice General Counsel and Senior Policy Director of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) History Becker graduated from Columbia College (196 ...

, SEC General Counsel

References

Sources

*"Bogue Quits as R.F.C. Counsel." ''New York Times.'' December 2, 1932. *Butkiewicz, James L. "The Reconstruction Finance Corporation, the Gold Standard and the Banking Panic of 1933." ''Southern Economic Journal.'' 1999. *Conklin, William R. "Frankfurter, Reed Testify to Loyalty, Integrity of Hiss." ''New York Times.'' June 23, 1949. *Dinwoodey, Dean. "New NRA Test Case Covers Basic Issues." ''New York Times.'' April 7, 1935. *Eichengreen, Barry J. ''Golden Fetters: The Gold Standard and the Great Depression, 1919–1939.'' New ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. *"Ex-Justice Reed to Hear Case." ''New York Times." March 4, 1958. *"Farm Board Counsel to Retire." ''New York Times.'' November 8, 1929. *Fassett, John D. "The Buddha and the Bumblebee: The Saga of Stanley Reed and Felix Frankfurter." ''Journal of Supreme Court History.'' 28:2 (July 2003). *Fassett, John D. ''New Deal Justice: The Life of Stanley Reed of Kentucky.'' New York: Vantage Press, 1994. *"Federal Judge in Missouri Named to Supreme Court." ''New York Times.'' March 3, 1957. *Goodman Jr., George. "Ex-Justice Stanley Reed, 95, Dead." ''New York Times.'' April 4, 1980. *"High Court Holds Challenge of NLRB Must Await Board Order Against Company." ''New York Times.'' February 1, 1938. *Hoffer, Peter Charles; Hoffer, William James Hull; and Hull, N.E.H. ''The Supreme Court: An Essential History.'' Lawrence, Kan.: University Press of Kansas, 2007. *Huston, Luther A. "High Court Bars Trials By States In Sedition Cases." ''New York Times.'' April 3, 1956. *Huston, Luther A. "High Court Upholds Deportation And Denial of Bail to Alien Reds." ''New York Times.'' March 11, 1952. *Huston, Luther A. "Justice Reed, 72, to Retire From the Supreme Court." ''New York Times.'' February 1, 1957. *"Jackson Is Named Solicitor General." ''New York Times.'' January 28, 1938. *Jost, Kenneth. ''The Supreme Court A-Z.'' 1st ed. New York: Routledge, 1998. *"Justice Reed Retires From Supreme Court." ''New York Times.'' February 26, 1957. *"Justices on Stand Called 'Degrading'." ''Associated Press.'' July 18, 1949. *Kennedy, David M. ''Freedom From Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929–1945.'' New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. 0195038347 *Kluger, Richard. ''Simple Justice.'' Paperback ed. New York: Vantage Press, 1977. *Krock, Arthur. "Reed's Views Reflect Changing High Court." ''New York Times.'' February 3, 1957. *Lewis, Anthony. "Eisenhower Picks Civil Rights Unit." ''New York Times.'' November 8, 1957. *Lewis, Anthony. "Reed Turns Down Civil Rights Post." ''New York Times.'' December 4, 1957. *"Map Legal Battle for AAA Program." ''Associated Press.'' September 23, 1935. *Mason, Joseph R. "The Political Economy of Reconstruction Finance Corporation Assistance During the Great Depression." ''Explorations in Economic History.'' 40:2 (April 2003). *"Murphy, Jackson Inducted Together." ''New York Times.'' January 19, 1940. *Nash, Gerald D. "Herbert Hoover and the Origins of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation." ''Mississippi Valley Historical Review.'' December 1959. *"New Deal Pleas Won Reed Fame." ''New York Times.'' January 16, 1938. *Olson, James S. ''Saving Capitalism: The Reconstruction Finance Corporation and the New Deal, 1933–1940.'' Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1988. *"Potomac Pact Delayed." ''New York Times.'' November 22, 1960. *"Reed Given Court Task." ''United Press International.'' October 29, 1957. *"Reed In Collapse." ''New York Times.'' December 11, 1935. *Schlesinger, Arthur M. ''The Age of Roosevelt: The Coming of the New Deal, 1933–1935.'' Paperback ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1958. *Schlesinger, Arthur M. ''The Age of Roosevelt: The Crisis of the Old Order, 1919–1933.'' Paperback ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1957. *Schlesinger, Arthur M. ''The Age of Roosevelt: The Politics of Upheaval, 1935–1936.'' Paperback ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1960. *"Senate Quickly Confirms Reed Nomination." ''New York Times.'' January 26, 1938. *"Stanley Reed Goes to Supreme Court." ''New York Times.'' January 16, 1938. *"Stanley Reed Named Solicitor General." ''New York Times.'' March 19, 1935. *Stark, Louis. "Belcher Test Case of Validity of NRA to Be Abandoned." ''New York Times.'' March 26, 1935. *Stark, Louis. "High Court Affirms Non-Red Taft Oath." ''New York Times.'' May 9, 1950. *"3 Justice Step Out of 'Covenants' Case." ''Associated Press.'' January 16, 1948. *Tomlins, Christopher, ed. ''The United States Supreme Court: The Pursuit of Justice.'' New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2005. *"Urges High Court to Give 7A Ruling." ''New York Times.'' April 12, 1935. *Urofsky, Melvin I. ''Division & Discord: The Supreme Court Under Stone and Vinson, 1941–1953.'' New ed. Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press, 1998. *Walz, Jay. "Decision Is 6 to 2." ''New York Times.'' June 5, 1951. *Wicker, Elmus. ''The Banking Panics of the Great Depression.'' New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996. *Wood, Lewis. "High Court Rules Negroes Can Vote In Texas Primary." ''New York Times.'' April 4, 1944. *Wood, Lewis. "Sutherland Quits Supreme Court." ''New York Times.'' January 6, 1938.

External links

Stanley F. Reed Oral History Project

Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History The Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, also known as The Nunn Center, the University of Kentucky, is one of the premier oral history centers in the world, known for a comprehensive oral history archival collection, ongoing interviewing projects, ...

, University of Kentucky Libraries
Stanley F. Reed papers. Manuscript Collection, Special Collections, William T. Young Library, University of Kentucky.
* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Stanley Forman 1884 births 1980 deaths 20th-century American judges American Protestants Columbia Law School alumni Kentucky Democrats Kentucky lawyers Kentucky Wesleyan College alumni People from Mason County, Kentucky Reconstruction Finance Corporation Sons of the American Revolution United States federal judges appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt United States Solicitors General Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States University of Virginia School of Law alumni