The First Notable Supreme Court Decisions

The United States Supreme Court was assembled throughout 1789 and convened for the first time on February 2, 1790. Between 1789 and 1801, the Supreme Court had three chief justices: John Jay, John Rutledge, and Oliver Ellsworth. These judges presided over the earliest cases heard by the US Supreme Court.

A New York City native, John Jay was born in 1745 and served as one of the nation’s founding fathers. In addition to serving in the Continental Congress, he contributed to the Federalist Papers and served as chief justice for the state of New York. President George Washington appointed Jay as the nation’s first chief justice in 1789.

The first-ever case docketed for the US Supreme Court was Van Staphorst v. Maryland in 1791. The origins of the case involved the Van Staphorst brothers, bankers who lent the state of Maryland money over the course of the Revolutionary War. At the conclusion of the war, the state declined to pay back the loan under the terms set by the brothers. Although the case was accepted and docketed by the Supreme Court, the parties settled prior to litigation. Collet v. Collet was also docketed but dropped prior to oral arguments.

West v. Barnes also came to the Supreme Court in 1791, and would be the first case decided by the court, with John Jay as chief justice. William West of Rhode Island owed a mortgage on his farm and, after 20 years of payments, conducted a lottery and paid off the remaining debt with paper currency, as opposed to gold and silver. David L. Barnes refused the payment and demanded gold and silver, resulting in litigation.

The court ultimately rendered a decision on procedural grounds, determining that West’s appeal for lottery should have been made with the clerk of the Supreme Court of the United States, as opposed to a lower court. Following the decision, Congress amended the Process and Compensation Act of 1792 so that citizens could make such appeals with local circuit courts.

Chisholm v. Georgia is often regarded as the most controversial and impactful decision made by the Supreme Court during Jay’s tenure as chief justice. The origins of the case can be traced back to 1777, when Thomas Stone and Edward Davies purchased goods to support American troops in Savannah. Robert Farquhar, the merchant, died before payment was rendered, and his estate made a claim on the debt in 1789. Alexander Chisholm, executor of Farquhar’s estate, filed the case with a circuit court in 1791.

In a 4-1 decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Chisholm. As part of the summary, Jay and the other justices stated that federal courts hold jurisdiction in cases involving a state and a citizen of another state, assuming the state is the defendant. Jay also led the court when the 11th Amendment was proposed by Congress, a direct response to the Chisholm v. Georgia ruling that dictates an individual’s capacity to litigate against a state in federal court.

In 1794, Jay stepped away from the Supreme Court to resume his duties as a diplomat, traveling to Great Britain to resolve tensions surrounding exports, seizures, and occupation. He played a driving role in the development and passing of the Jay Treaty, which many Americans protested for what they believed to be overly favorable terms for the British. However, Jay’s actions as a diplomat helped avoid embroiling the nation in a war it was not ready to fight. By the time he returned to the United States, he learned that he had been elected governor of New York, at which point he resigned his position as chief justice.

Jay was followed as chief justice by John Rutledge in 1795 and Oliver Ellsworth in 1796, though no major cases were heard during this time.

from WordPress https://ift.tt/iEekpC5
via IFTTT