George Shiras Jr. (January 26, 1832 – August 2, 1924) was an American lawyer who served as an

associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States An associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States is any member of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the chief justice of the United States. The number of associate justices is eight, as set by the Judiciary Act of ...

from 1892 to 1903. At that time of his appointment, he had 37 years of private legal practice but had never judged a case. He is noted for his votes in '' Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co.'' and in '' Plessy v. Ferguson''.

Life and career

Shiras was born in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, January 26, 1832. He attended

Ohio University Ohio University is a public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation and subse ...

and then graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

, in 1853. He began law school at

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by '' U.S. News & World ...

, but left before earning a law degree.George Shiras
, HistoryCentral.com. Retrieved October 10, 2009 He finished his training by

reading law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under th ...

at a law office, then practiced law in

Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...

, from 1855 to 1858, and in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1858 to 1892. In Pittsburgh, he became a prominent corporate attorney, and he was noted for his honesty and pragmatism while representing some of the nation's industrial giants. On July 19, 1892, Shiras was nominated by President

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...

as an

associate justice Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some sta ...

, to succeed

Joseph P. Bradley Joseph Philo Bradley (March 14, 1813 – January 22, 1892) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1870 to 1892. He was also a member of the Electoral Commission that decided t ...

. He was recommended for the post by his cousin, Secretary of State

James G. Blaine James Gillespie Blaine (January 31, 1830January 27, 1893) was an American statesman and Republican politician who represented Maine in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1863 to 1876, serving as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representati ...

. Shiras was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

on July 26, 1892, and took the judicial oath of office on October 10, 1892. Although Shiras sat on the Court for more than 10 years authoring 253 majority decisions and 14 dissents, he is noted for his votes on just two landmark cases, '' Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co.'' (1895), and '' Plessy v. Ferguson'' (1896). He sided with the majority in the 5–4 decision in ''Pollock'' to strike down the Income Tax Act of 1894 as unconstitutional. Some historians believe Shiras was the pivotal Justice who switched his vote, while other historians suspect that it was either Justice Horace Gray or Justice David Brewer. Regardless, the ruling in ''Pollock'' led to the need for a constitutional amendment to impose a federal income tax, and in 1913, the

Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Sixteenth Amendment (Amendment XVI) to the United States Constitution allows Congress to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the states on the basis of population. It was passed by Congress in 1909 in response to the 1895 Sup ...

was ratified. Shiras also voted with the 7–1 majority in '' Plessy v. Ferguson'', which upheld the constitutionality of

racial segregation Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Intern ...

under the doctrine of

separate but equal Separate but equal was a legal doctrine in United States constitutional law, according to which racial segregation did not necessarily violate the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which nominally guaranteed "equal protec ...

, and which was effectively overruled in 1954. Shiras retired from the Supreme Court on February 23, 1903. He died in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on August 2, 1924, and is buried in

Allegheny Cemetery Allegheny Cemetery is one of the largest and oldest burial grounds in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is a historic rural cemetery. The non-sectarian, wooded hillside park is located at 4734 Butler Street in the Lawrenceville neighborhood, and bou ...

in Pittsburgh. His son,

George Shiras III George Shiras III (January 1, 1859 – March 24, 1942) was a U.S. Representative from the state of Pennsylvania and nature photographer who pioneered the use of nighttime flash photography. Biography George Shiras (son of George Shiras Jr.) was ...

, served as a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

for Pennsylvania.

Notes

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shiras, George Jr. 1832 births 1924 deaths 19th-century American judges 20th-century American judges American Presbyterians Burials at Allegheny Cemetery Lawyers from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Republicans United States federal judges appointed by Benjamin Harrison Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States Yale Law School alumni United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law

Life and career

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Notes

References

External links