Jay, Rutledge and Ellsworth Courts

The Jay, Rutledge and Ellsworth Courts gather the justices who served during the Supreme Court's first decade, from its 1789 organization under Chief Justice John Jay through John Rutledge's brief 1795 recess appointment as second Chief Justice to Oliver Ellsworth's tenure ending in 1800. This founding era established the Court's earliest procedures, including circuit riding, and decided few major constitutional cases before Marshall's arrival reshaped the institution's role in American government.