Henry Billings Brown (U.S. Supreme Court)
Henry Billings Brown (1836-1913) was an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States and a judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. He joined the Supreme Court in 1890 after a nomination from President Benjamin Harrison. He retired from the Supreme Court on May 28, 1906.
Brown joined the Eastern District of Michigan in 1875 after a nomination from President Ulysses Grant. Before joining the court, Brown was a private practice attorney and lecturer in law in Michigan.[1]
Brown was one of four justices nominated to the Supreme Court by President Harrison. Brown served during The Fuller Court.[2] Brown passed away on September 4, 1913.
Education
Brown attended Yale Law School and Harvard Law School. He also studied law by reading law.[1]
Professional career
- 1868-1871: Professor of medical jurisprudence, Detroit Medical College
- 1868-1875: Lecturer in law, University of Michigan
- 1868-1875: Attorney in private practice, Detroit, Michigan
- 1868: Judge, Wayne County Circuit Court
- 1863-1868: Assistant U.S. Attorney, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
- 1861-1863: Deputy U.S. Marshal, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
- 1860-1861: Attorney in private practice, Detroit, Michigan[1]
Judicial nominations and appointments
Supreme Court
Justice Brown was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Benjamin Harrison on December 23, 1890, to fill he seat vacated by Samuel Freeman Miller. He was confirmed by the Senate on December 29, 1890, and received commission that same day. He retired on May 28, 1906.[1] He was succeeded to this post by William Henry Moody.
Eastern District of Michigan
Brown served on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. He was nominated by President Ulysses Grant on March 17, 1875, to fill the seat vacated by John Wesley Longyear. He was confirmed by the Senate on March 19, 1875, and received commission that same day. He served until December 30, 1890, when he joined the Supreme Court.[1] He was succeeded to this post by Henry Harrison Swan.
Noteworthy cases
| Details |
|---|
| Author: Henry B. Brown
Vote Count: 7-1 Majority Justices: Fuller, Field, Gray, Shiras, White, Peckham Minority Justice: Harlan I |
Separate But Equal Stands (1896)
In 1892, Louisiana passed the Separate Car Act, which segregated carrier cars by race. On June 7, 1892, Homer Plessy, a light-skinned black man, sat in a "White" car, identifying himself as black in order to challenge the law. The thirty year-old Plessy was jailed for not sitting in the "Colored" car.[3]With seven votes for Ferguson and one vote against, the Supreme Court ruled that mandatory racial segregation was not in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. Despite never using the term "separate, but equal," the court's ruling established that principle as a means of justifying segregation.[4]
See also
- Supreme Court of the United States
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
External links
- michaelariens.com, "Biography"
- The Supreme Court Historical Society, "Henry Billings Brown Biography"
- Justice Brown's Biography from the Federal Judicial Center
Footnotes
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: John Wesley Longyear |
Eastern District of Michigan 1875–1890 Seat #1 |
Succeeded by: Henry Harrison Swan |
| Preceded by: Samuel Freeman Miller |
Supreme Court 1890–1906 Seat #5 |
Succeeded by: William Henry Moody
|
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Active judges |
• Sean Cox (Michigan) • Thomas Ludington • Mark Goldsmith • Stephen Murphy (Michigan) • Shalina Kumar • Linda V. Parker • Laurie Michelson • Terrence Berg • Judith Ellen Levy • Matthew Frederick Leitman • Jonathan Grey • Frances Kay Behm • Susan DeClercq • Brandy McMillion • Robert White (Michigan) | ||
| Senior judges |
Bernard Friedman • Paul Borman • Robert Cleland • Nancy Edmunds • Denise Hood • David M. Lawson • John O'Meara (Michigan) • George Steeh • Gershwin Drain • | ||
| Magistrate judges | David Grand • Patricia T. Morris • Anthony Patti • Elizabeth Stafford • Kimberly Altman • Curtis Ivy Jr. • | ||
| Former Article III judges |
Damon Keith • Victoria Roberts • Marianne Battani • Anna Taylor • Avern Cohn • Patrick Duggan • John Feikens • Paul Gadola • Arthur Tarnow • Lawrence Zatkoff • Cornelia Kennedy • Ralph Guy • Richard Suhrheinrich • Horace Gilmore • Stewart Newblatt • Ross Wilkins • Barbara Hackett • Russell Harvey (Michigan) • George La Plata • Henry Billings Brown (U.S. Supreme Court) • John Wesley Longyear • Henry Harrison Swan • Alexis Caswell Angell • Arthur Tuttle • Charles Casper Simons • Edward Julien Moinet • Ernest Aloysius O'Brien • Arthur Lederle • Frank Picard • Wade Hampton McCree, Jr. • James Churchill • Mona Majzoub • Patricia Boyle • Robert DeMascio • Ralph Freeman • Lawrence Gubow • Frederick Kaess • Arthur Koscinski • Theodore Levin (Michigan) • Thaddeus Machrowicz • Clifford O'Sullivan • Philip Pratt (Michigan) • Stephen Roth (Michigan) • Talbot Smith • Thomas Thornton • George Woods (federal judge) • Stephanie Dawkins Davis • | ||
| Former Chief judges |
Damon Keith • Bernard Friedman • Anna Taylor • Julian Cook • John Feikens • Lawrence Zatkoff • Cornelia Kennedy • Arthur Lederle • Frank Picard • James Churchill • Ralph Freeman • Frederick Kaess • Theodore Levin (Michigan) • Philip Pratt (Michigan) • | ||
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1869 |
Dillon • Drummond • Gresham • Hillyer • McKennan • Shepley • Woodruff • Woods | ||
| 1870 |
Blodgett • Bond • Bradley • Charles Daniel Drake • Emmons • Hopkins • Humphreys • Knowles • Longyear • MacArthur • Nixon • Sawyer • Strong • Winch | ||
| 1871 | Bradford • McKinney • Rives • Story • Swing | ||
| 1872 | |||
| 1873 | |||
| 1874 | |||
| 1875 | |||
| 1876 -77 | |||
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1889 | |||
| 1890 |
Brown • Bryant • Caldwell • Edgerton • Green • Ham • Hanford • Hawley • Jewell • Knowles • Ricks • Riner • Sharpe • Sharretts • Shurtleff • Somerville • Stackpole • Swayne • Thomas • Tichenor • Wilkinson • Williams | ||
| 1891 |
Acheson • Aldrich • Lunt • Putnam • Reed • Swan | ||
| 1892 |
Baker • Beatty • Buffington • Dallas • Gilbert • Goff • Grosscup • McCormick • McKenna • Morrow • Niles • Peelle • Rector • Sanborn • Shipman • Shiras • Taft • Townsend • Woolson • Woods | ||
| 1893 | |||
Federal courts:
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Michigan, Western District of Michigan • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Michigan, Western District of Michigan
State courts:
Michigan Supreme Court • Michigan Court of Appeals • Michigan Circuit Court • Michigan District Courts • Michigan Probate Courts
State resources:
Courts in Michigan • Michigan judicial elections • Judicial selection in Michigan
