Justice Hugo Black surrounded by journalists with whom he declined to discuss his Ku Klux Klan membership. Although rumors of his allegiance to the KKK began to surface during the hearing, it was his time as a Senator that became a point of debate.
As a senator, Black voted to recognize retirement laws that would benefit those on the Supreme Court. Since Black would become a beneficiary of those new retirement perks upon his confirmation, it was argued that his appointment would present a conflict of interest. Under the Constitution's guidelines, no member of Congress would be allowed to take U.
Then the other shoe dropped. Outrage erupted. Senators who voted for his confirmation argued they would have voted differently had they known Black was a Klan member. In response, Black addressed the public in a radio broadcast that reached some 50 million Americans.
He admitted to being a former KKK member, but spoke briefly on his feelings towards minority groups. I later resigned. I have watched the progress of its members with sympathy and admiration. Certainly, they are entitled to the full measure of protection accorded to the citizenship of our country by our Constitution and our laws.
Placing the U. Constitution and the Bill of Rights above all else—he carried a copy of the Constitution in his pocket—his vote fell on both sides of the aisle, but typically leaned in favor of more liberal decisions. Last Name. Share this page. Follow Ballotpedia. Click here to follow election results! He joined the court in after a nomination from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. On September 17, , he assumed senior status , serving in this capacity until his death on September 25, Prior to joining the court, he was a United States Senator representing Alabama.
Black received his LL. He was confirmed by the Senate on August 17, , and received commission on August 18th. On September 17, , Black assumed senior status , serving in this capacity until his death on September 25, When Clarence Earl Gideon was caught breaking into a Florida pool house in order to commit a misdemeanor crime, he was arrested.
When he appeared in court, he asked that counsel be provided for him. However, Florida State law required that counsel only be provided to an "indigent defendant in capital cases. He was sentenced to five years in prison. In prison he filed a habeas corpus petition in the Florida Supreme Court. When his case made it to the Supreme Court, they had to determine whether or not it was unconstitutional to refuse him counsel.
The Court found in favor of Gideon, saying that the Constitution provided that everyone should have counsel available, in both state and federal courts. When the Board of Regents for the State of New York authorized a voluntary, nondenominational prayer service outside, the question of whether or not it violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment was brought to the United States Supreme Court.
Yet his relative lack of formal education stuck with him through adulthood, when he maintained a book-a-day diet that included classical and European history, philosophy and American fiction. In , Black left private practice to serve for 18 months as a local police court judge, where he observed firsthand the practices of Birmingham law enforcement.
It is suggested that this experience gave him both an inclination to support police and an awareness of brutality toward African-Americans and other minority groups. His career as a district attorney and trial lawyer further suggests consciousness of and sympathy for the downtrodden.
One of his first acts as the Jefferson County DA, for example, was to release several hundred prisoners held under a fee system by which officials received a per-diem stipend for each person in their custody. Black also investigated and ended a system of forced confessions that included buckle-strap beatings.
He later resigned from his post to enlist for one year in the U. Army during World War I. His decision in to join the Ku Klux Klan for two years would dog him for the rest of his career, casting a shadow over the rest of his accomplishments. Still, Black marched in parades and spoke at nearly meetings, dressed in the white Klan uniform. He also investigated the fraudulent lobbying activities of public utilities, leading to new regulation.
I still am.
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