The Supreme Court: Great Minds of the Court

Great Minds of the Court

A little more than 100 justices have served on the Supreme Court over its 224-year history. I've already introduced you to the chief justices. In this section, I'm going to introduce you to the five top minds of the court. My choices are based on an article from the American Bar Association Journal, “The All-Time, All-Star, All-Era Supreme Court.”

This list named nine justices, including four chief justices—Marshall, Taney, Hughes, and Warren. Since you've already met those four, I'll be concentrating on Hugo Black, Louis Brandeis, Benjamin Cardozo, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Joseph Story. I've named them in alphabetical order, but I'll be reviewing their careers and key decisions in chronological order.

Excerpted from The Complete Idiot's Guide to The Supreme Court © 2004 by Lita Epstein, J.D.. All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Used by arrangement with Alpha Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.