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Law & the Judiciary
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John Marshall 1755–1835Law & the JudiciaryChief justice who established judicial review and strengthened the Supreme Court and federal government.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg 1933–2020Law & the JudiciarySupreme Court Justice whose advocacy for gender equality made her a cultural icon.
Earl Warren 1891–1974Law & the JudiciaryChief justice whose Court transformed civil rights, voting, representation, and criminal procedure.
Thurgood Marshall 1908–1993Law & the JudiciaryFirst African American Supreme Court Justice and lead attorney in Brown v. Board of Education.
Sandra Day O'Connor 1930–2023Law & the JudiciaryFirst woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, appointed by President Reagan.
Antonin Scalia 1936–2016Law & the JudiciaryJustice whose advocacy of originalism and textualism transformed American legal interpretation.
Louis Brandeis 1856–1941Law & the JudiciaryJustice and reform lawyer who advanced privacy, free speech, and progressive regulation.
Clarence Thomas b. 1948Law & the JudiciaryLong-serving justice whose originalist opinions have strongly influenced modern conservative jurisprudence.
Samuel Alito b. 1950Law & the JudiciarySupreme Court justice who wrote the Dobbs opinion overturning Roe v. Wade
Clarence Darrow 1857–1938Law & the JudiciaryDefense lawyer in the Leopold and Loeb, Scopes, and Sweet trials
John Roberts b. 1955Law & the JudiciaryChief justice during major decisions on health care, elections, executive power, abortion, and administrative law.
Roger B. Taney 1777–1864Law & the JudiciaryChief justice whose Court shaped federalism but is principally remembered for the disastrous Dred Scott decision.
Anthony Kennedy b. 1936Law & the JudiciaryThirty years as the Supreme Court's median vote, and the author of both Obergefell and Citizens United.
Sonia Sotomayor b. 1954Law & the JudiciarySupreme Court Justice and former Yale Law professor whose memoir chronicles her rise from the Bronx.
William Rehnquist 1924–2005Law & the JudiciaryChief justice who led the Court’s conservative shift toward federalism and limits on congressional power.
Elena Kagan b. 1960Law & the JudiciarySupreme Court Justice and former Harvard Law dean known for her sharp legal mind and writing.
Robert H. Jackson 1892–1954Law & the JudiciaryJustice, attorney general, and chief U.S. prosecutor at Nuremberg who influenced constitutional law and international criminal justice.
Brett Kavanaugh b. 1965Law & the JudiciarySupreme Court justice confirmed in 2018 after contested hearings and often a pivotal vote.
John Paul Stevens 1920–2019Law & the JudiciaryLong-serving justice whose opinions shaped civil liberties, administrative law, and limits on executive power.
Joseph Story 1779–1845Law & the JudiciaryEarly Supreme Court justice and legal scholar whose treatises and opinions strengthened federal judicial authority.