George Shiras, Jr. (January 26, 1832 – August 2, 1924) was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States who was nominated to the Court by Republican President Benjamin Harrison. At that time, he had 37 years of private legal practice, but had never judged a case. He remains the only Supreme Court Justice who had no prior judicial experience.
Shiras was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania January 26, 1832. He graduated from Yale Col...
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George Shiras, Jr. (January 26, 1832 – August 2, 1924) was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States who was nominated to the Court by Republican President Benjamin Harrison. At that time, he had 37 years of private legal practice, but had never judged a case. He remains the only Supreme Court Justice who had no prior judicial experience.
Shiras was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania January 26, 1832. He graduated from Yale College, Phi Beta Kappa, in 1853. He began law school at Yale, but left before earning a law degree He finished his training at a law office, then practiced law in Dubuque, Iowa from 1855 to 1858, and in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1858 to 1892.
Although Shiras sat on the Court for more than 10 years authoring 253 majority decisions and 14 dissents, he is noted for his votes on just two landmark cases, Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. (1895), and Plessy v. Ferguson (1986). He sided with the majority in the 5-4 decision in Pollock to strike...
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