George Sutherland
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George Sutherland
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| In office October 2, 1922 – January 17, 1938 |
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| Nominated by | Warren G. Harding |
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| Preceded by | John Hessin Clarke |
| Succeeded by | Stanley Forman Reed |
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| Born | March 25, 1862 Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom |
| Died | July 18, 1942 (aged 80) |
George Sutherland (March 25, 1862 – July 18, 1942) was an English-born U.S. jurist and political figure. One of four appointments to the Supreme Court by President Warren G. Harding, he served as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court between 1922 and 1938.
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[edit] Early life and career
Born in Buckinghamshire, England, Sutherland immigrated to the United States with his parents in 1863 to join the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) in Springville, Utah. He graduated from Brigham Young Academy in 1881. Sutherland then graduated from the University of Michigan Law School, and was admitted to the Utah bar in 1883. He immediately entered in private practice in Provo, Utah until 1893, then practiced in Salt Lake City until 1901. He was a Member, Utah State Senate from 1897 to 1901.
[edit] Congress
Sutherland served as a Republican Congressman from Utah during the 57th Congress (March 4, 1901-March 3, 1903). In 1905, he was a surprise pick by the Utah state legislature for the unofficially designated "non-Mormon" seat, chosen as a friendlier option over the incumbent anti-Mormon officeholder. Sutherland's selection thus heralded an increase in Mormon political power in the state. He was a U.S. Senator representing Utah from 1905 to 1917, his term ending with an unsuccessful try for reelection to a third term in 1916. Following his Senate defeat, he remained in private practice of law in Washington, D.C. from 1917 to 1922, serving as President of the American Bar Association from 1916 to 1917.
[edit] Supreme Court
On September 5, 1922, Sutherland was nominated by President Warren G. Harding to the Associate Justice seat on the Supreme Court of the United States vacated by John Hessin Clarke. Sutherland was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 5, 1922, and received his commission the same day.
Sutherland wrote a decision refusing to declare unconstitutional a local zoning ordinance, in Village of Euclid, Ohio v. Ambler Realty Co.. The decision was widely interpreted as a general endorsement of the constitutionality of zoning laws.
During Franklin Roosevelt's early years in office as president, Justice Sutherland along with James Clark McReynolds, Pierce Butler and Willis Van Devanter, was part of the conservative Four Horsemen, who were instrumental in striking down Roosevelt's New Deal legislation. Important decisions authored by Sutherland include the 1932 case Powell v. Alabama, overturning a conviction in the Scottsboro Boys Case because the defendant, Ozie Powell, was deprived of his right to counsel, and U.S. v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corp..
In United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind, Sutherland authored a decision using his vague definition of the Caucasian race with the unmerited application of the common man test that classified Indians as belonging to the Asian race, despite anthropological assumptions on the contrary. This ruling led to Thind's being denied the possibility of naturalized citizenship.
Sutherland retired from the U.S. Supreme Court on January 17, 1938. Following his retirement as a Justice, Sutherland sat by special designation as a member of the Second Circuit panel that reviewed the bribery conviction of former Second Circuit Chief Judge Martin Manton, and authored the court's opinion upholding the conviction.
He died in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. He is also a great great grandfather to actor Donald Sutherland.
[edit] References
- George Sutherland at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- Utah History To Go: Biography of George Sutherland
- Return of George Sutherland, by Hadley Arkes
| United States House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by William H. King |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Utah's 1st congressional district March 4, 1901-March 3, 1903 |
Succeeded by Joseph Howell |
| United States Senate | ||
| Preceded by Thomas Kearns |
United States Senator (Class 1) from Utah 1905 – 1917 Served alongside: Reed Smoot |
Succeeded by William H. King |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by John Hessin Clarke |
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States October 2, 1922 – January 17, 1938 |
Succeeded by Stanley Forman Reed |
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