The Ellsworth Court refers to the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

from 1796 to 1800, when

Oliver Ellsworth Oliver Ellsworth (April 29, 1745 – November 26, 1807) was a Founding Father of the United States, Attorney at law, attorney, jurist, politician, and diplomat. Ellsworth was a framer of the United States Constitution, United States senator fr ...

served as the third

Chief Justice of the United States The chief justice of the United States is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States and is the highest-ranking officer of the U.S. federal judiciary. Appointments Clause, Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution g ...

. Ellsworth took office after the Senate refused to confirm the nomination of Chief Justice

John Rutledge John Rutledge Jr. (September 17, 1739 – June 21, 1800) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father, politician, and jurist who served as one of the original Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States ...

, who briefly served as a Chief Justice as a

recess appointment In the United States, a recess appointment is an appointment by the President of the United States, president of a Officer of the United States, federal official when the United States Senate, U.S. Senate is in Recess (motion), recess. Under the ...

. Ellsworth served as Chief Justice until his resignation, at which point

John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American statesman, jurist, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth chief justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remai ...

took office. With some exceptions, the Ellsworth Court was the last Supreme Court to use seriatim opinions.

Membership

The Ellsworth Court began in 1796 when the Senate confirmed President

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

's appointment of Ellsworth. Washington had previously nominated both Rutledge and Associate Justice

William Cushing William Cushing (March 1, 1732 – September 13, 1810) was an American lawyer who was one of the original five associate justices of the United States Supreme Court; confirmed by the United States Senate on September 26, 1789, he served until ...

to the seat, but Rutledge's nomination was denied by the Senate and Cushing refused the nomination on the basis of his health.Schwartz, 39 The Ellsworth Court began with Ellsworth and four Associate Justices from the Jay Court:

, James Wilson,

James Iredell James Iredell (October 5, 1751 – October 20, 1799) was one of the first justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was appointed by President George Washington and served from 1790 until his death in 1799. His son, James Iredel ...

, and William Paterson. Associate Justice

Samuel Chase Samuel Chase (April 17, 1741 – June 19, 1811) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father of the United States, signer of the Continental Association and United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Maryla ...

took office shortly after Ellsworth's tenure began, filling the vacancy caused by the resignation of John Blair, Jr. during the Rutledge Court. Wilson died in 1798, and President

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

appointed

Bushrod Washington Bushrod Washington (June 5, 1762 – November 26, 1829) was an American attorney and politician who served as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1798 to 1829. On the Supreme Court, he was a staunch ally of Chi ...

to take his seat.

Alfred Moore Alfred Moore (May 21, 1755 – October 15, 1810) was an American judge, lawyer, planter and military officer who became an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Moore Square, a park located in the Moore Square Histo ...

joined the court in 1800 after the death of Iredell.

Timeline

Other branches

Presidents during this court included

and

. Congresses during this court included 4th through the 6th United States Congresses.

Rulings of the Court

The Ellsworth Court issued some notable rulings: *''

Hollingsworth v. Virginia ''Hollingsworth v. Virginia'', 3 U.S. (3 Dall.) 378 (1798), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States, United States Supreme Court ruled early in America's history that the President of the United States has no formal role in the ...

'' (1798): In a

per curiam In law, a ''per curiam'' decision or opinion (sometimes called an unsigned opinion) is one that is not authored by or attributed to a specific judge, but rather ascribed to the entire court or panel of judges who heard the case. The term is La ...

opinion, the court ruled that the president plays no part in amending the Constitution. *'' Calder v. Bull'' (1798): In an opinion written by Justice Chase, the court held that the Constitutional prohibition on ex post facto laws applies only to criminal acts, and that the Supreme Court of United States has no authority to determine whether state laws violate state constitutions.

Membership

Timeline

Other branches

Rulings of the Court

References

Further reading