Robert Houghwout Jackson was born on February 13, 1892, and died on October 9, 1954, and served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1941 until his death. He is the only person to have served as United States solicitor general, United States attorney general, and a Supreme Court justice, and he never earned a law degree, having been admitted to the bar through an apprenticeship after a year at Albany Law School. He is best remembered for taking leave from the Court to serve as chief United States prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials of major Nazi war criminals following the Second World War. Widely regarded as one of the finest legal stylists ever to sit on the Court, he wrote the majority opinion in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette and notable dissents in Korematsu v. United States and Everson v. Board of Education, and coined the aphorism that the Court is not final because it is infallible, but infallible only because it is final.
Facts
RoleAssociate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (1941-1954). 1 Nationality / Jurisdiction BirthplaceSpring Creek Township, Warren County, Pennsylvania, U.S. 1 Place of Death Classification
Field of Law Role
Role (category) FAQs
What did Robert H. Jackson do at the Nuremberg trials?
He was U.S. Chief of Counsel at Nuremberg and helped draft the London Charter that created the legal basis for the trials.
In 1945 President Harry S. Truman appointed Jackson, who took a leave of absence from the Supreme Court, as U.S. Chief of Counsel for the prosecution of Nazi war criminals. He helped draft the London Charter of the International Military Tribunal, which created the legal basis for the Nuremberg Trials, and then served in Nuremberg as United States Chief Prosecutor at the International Military Tribunal. His opening and closing arguments before the court were widely celebrated.
Which Supreme Court opinions is Robert H. Jackson best known for?
He wrote the Barnette flag salute opinion and the Youngstown concurrence with its three-tier test of presidential power.
In 1943 Jackson wrote the majority opinion in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, which overturned a public school regulation making it mandatory to salute the flag. His concurring opinion in the 1952 case Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, which forbade President Truman's seizure of steel mills during the Korean War, formulated a three-tier test for evaluating claims of presidential power and remains one of the most widely cited opinions in Supreme Court history.
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Source Robert H. Jackson (Wikipedia)Lead sentence 1tier 2Quote, Lead sentence 1
Robert Houghwout Jackson (February 13, 1892 – October 9, 1954) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician who served as an associate justice of the U.S.
Sources
1. Robert H. Jackson (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributorsLead paragraph, opening sentence (tenure clause)
was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1941 until his death in 1954.
Lead paragraph, opening sentence (occupation and nationality clause)
was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1941 until his death in 1954.
Early life section, opening sentence
Jackson was born on his family's farm in Spring Creek Township, Warren County, Pennsylvania, on February 13, 1892, and was raised in Frewsburg, New York.
Death section, closing sentence (date of death clause)
On Saturday, October 9, 1954, Jackson had another heart attack; at 11:45 a.m. he died aged 62.
Infobox: death_place
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Lead paragraph, opening words (full name)
Robert Houghwout Jackson
Introduction
He had previously served as United States Solicitor General and United States Attorney General, and is the only person to have held all three of those offices. Jackson was also notable for his work at the Nuremberg trials prosecuting Nazi war criminals following World War II. Jackson developed a reputation as one of the best writers on the Supreme Court and one of the most committed to enforcing due process as protection from overreaching federal agencies.
Member Of: United States Supreme Court, Wikipedia lead paragraph
jurist, and politician who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1941 until his death in 1954. He had previously served a
View the Source Wikidata: Robert H. Jackson
Wikidata Q505450 self-citation (QID resolved for a previously unsourced jurist)
P31 (instance of): human; QID resolved and verified for this jurist (Robert H. Jackson)
- In Legal System: Law of the United States, Robert Houghwout Jackson (February 13, 1892, October 9, 1954) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician who served
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