Robert H. Jackson
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
1892 - 1954
Served as chief prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials and authored some of the most eloquent opinions in Supreme Court history on executive power, free speech, and individual liberty.
Biography
Robert H. Jackson served on the Supreme Court from 1941 to 1954 and is widely regarded as one of the finest writers ever to sit on the Court. Uniquely among Supreme Court Justices, Jackson never attended college or earned a law degree—he was admitted to the bar after completing a clerkship and passing the New York bar exam.
Jackson's career before the Court was remarkable: he served as Solicitor General, Attorney General, and then took leave from the Court to serve as chief American prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials of Nazi war criminals. His opening statement at Nuremberg is considered one of the great speeches of the twentieth century, establishing the principle that individuals—including heads of state—bear personal responsibility for violations of international law.
On the Court, Jackson authored opinions of extraordinary literary quality and analytical depth. His concurrence in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) remains the definitive framework for analyzing presidential power, and his dissent in Korematsu v. United States (1944) is a powerful rebuke of racial discrimination masquerading as military necessity.
Major Accomplishments
- 1Chief American prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials
- 2Authored the Youngstown framework for presidential power
- 3Served as Solicitor General and Attorney General of the United States
- 4Wrote landmark opinions on free speech and religious liberty
- 5Reached the Supreme Court without a college degree or law degree
Notable Opinions & Cases
Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (concurrence)
1952
Established the three-zone framework for analyzing presidential power that remains definitive today
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette
1943
Struck down compulsory flag salute, declaring that no official can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, religion, or opinion
Korematsu v. United States (dissent)
1944
Powerful dissent against Japanese internment, warning that the principle would lie about 'like a loaded weapon'
Wickard v. Filburn (majority)
1942
Expanded Commerce Clause power to reach purely local agricultural activity
Legacy
Jackson's influence extends far beyond his time on the Court. The Youngstown concurrence is the starting point for every modern executive power analysis. His Barnette opinion is among the most frequently quoted passages in constitutional law. His work at Nuremberg helped establish international criminal law as a field and set precedents that led to the creation of the International Criminal Court.
Famous Quotes
“If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion.”
“The Constitution is not a suicide pact.”
“We are not final because we are infallible, but we are infallible only because we are final.”
“The privilege against self-incrimination is one of the great landmarks in man's struggle to make himself civilized.”