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Justice System Timeline
Justice System Timeline -
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
Supreme court Justice appointed by Theodore Roosevelt -
William R. Day
Supreme court Justice appointed by Theodore Roosevelt -
Criminal Record
Criminal records were created to help maintain offenders. It has the offenders criminal background. -
William Henry Moody
Supreme court Justice appointed by Theodore Roosevelt -
U.S Court of Customs Appeals
In 1909, Congress created the U.S. Court of Customs Appeals, with five authorized judgeship, to hear appeals from the Board of General Appraisers (later the U.S. Customs Court -
Weems v. United States
The Court holds for the first time that punishment must be appropriate and proportional to the crime. -
Horace Harmon Lurton
Supreme court Justice appointed by William Howard Taft -
Charles Evans Hughes
Supreme court Justice appointed by William Howard Taft -
Edward Douglass White
Supreme court Justice appointed by William Howard Taft -
Willis Van Devanter
Supreme court Justice appointed by William Howard Taft -
Joseph Rucker Lamar
Supreme court Justice appointed by William Howard Taft -
District Courts
To create a more efficient federal judiciary, Congress votes to abolish the US circuit courts and transfer their jurisdiction to district courts. -
Mahlon Pitney
Supreme court Justice appointed by William Howard Taft. -
16th Amendment
The Sixteenth Amendment, granting Congress the power to impose a federal income tax, is enacted. -
17th Amendment
The Seventeenth Amendment is enacted, establishing the direct election of U.S. Senators. -
Weeks v. United States
The Court establishes the Exclusionary Rule. -
James Clark McReynolds
Supreme court Justice appointed by Woodrow Wilson -
Grandfather clause
The Court strikes as unconstitutional an Oklahoma "grandfather clause" limiting the right to vote to only those men whose grandfathers had been eligible to vote in 1867. -
Louis Brandeis
Supreme court Justice appointed by Woodrow Wilson -
John Hessin Clarke
Supreme court Justice appointed by Woodrow Wilson -
Hammer v. Dagenhart
The Court voids a federal statute that had prohibited the interstate shipment of goods produced by child laborers. -
Arver v. United States
The decision in Arver v. United States holds that compulsive military service does not fall within the definition of "involuntary servitude" prohibited by the Thirteenth Amendment. -
Criminal Division
The Criminal Division is formally organized. -
19th Amendment
The Nineteenth Amendment extends the right to vote to women. -
William Howard Taft
Supreme court Justice appointed by Warren G. Harding -
George Sutherland
Supreme court Justice appointed by Warren G. Harding -
Pierce Butler
Supreme court Justice appointed by Warren G. Harding -
Edward Terry Sanford
Supreme court Justice appointed by Warren G. Harding -
Harlan F. Stone
Supreme court Justice appointed by Calvin Coolidge -
Judges' Bill
The Supreme Court justices recommend the Judges' Bill to Congress for approval. Congress agrees to give the Court greater authority in determining which cases it will hear by eliminating direct appeals from district courts except in cases involving constitutional principles. -
Charles Evans Hughes
Supreme court Justice appointed by Herbert Hoover -
Owen Josephus Roberts
Supreme court Justice appointed by Herbert Hoover -
Benjamin N. Cardozo
Supreme court Justice appointed by Herbert Hoover -
20th Amendment
The Twentieth Amendment shortens the interval between the election and inauguration of the President and Congress. -
21st Amendment
The Twenty-first Amendment repeals the Eighteenth. -
San Francisco prison
American government opened Alcatraz prison for the nation's worst offenders. Located in the bay of San Francisco, this famous prison became part of the American history. -
Grovey v. Townsend
the Court finds that white-only political primaries held, at the time, by the Democratic Party in several Southern states are constitutional. -
Three Sections
The Division is reorganized into three sections - Administrative, Appellate, and Trial. -
Ignoring Minimum Wage
Chief Justice Hughes finds a "compelling" state interest in protecting workers from the "exploitation" of "unconscionable employers" like the West Coast Hotel Company, which had ignored the minimum-wage statute. -
Breedlove v. Suttles
The Court upholds a Georgia poll tax in Breedlove v. Suttles. The decision states that because it is applied to all races, Georgia's poll tax violates neither the Fourteenth nor the Fifteenth Amendment. Some Southern states continue to employ poll taxes until the mid-1960s. -
Hugo Black
Supreme court Justice appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt -
Stanley Forman Reed
Supreme court Justice appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt -
Felix Frankfurter
Supreme court Justice appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt -
William O. Douglas
Supreme court Justice appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt -
Frank Murphy
Supreme court Justice appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt -
Darby Lumber Co. v. United States
The Court unanimously upholds the Fair Labor Standards Act. The act, which is the last major piece of the New Deal legislation, establishes minimum wage and maximum hour labor standards in all industries producing goods to be shipped in interstate commerce -
Harlan F. Stone
Supreme court Justice appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt -
James F. Byrnes
Supreme court Justice appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt -
Robert H. Jackson
Supreme court Justice appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt -
War Frauds Unit
The Attorney General sets up a special War Frauds Unit, later supervised by the Criminal Division, to prosecute all cases involving fraud upon the government in its war efforts. -
Galloway v. United States
The Court holds that a federal judge may reject a jury's verdict and direct it to enter another verdict if the judge concludes that the jury had insufficient evidence to support its decision. -
United States v. White
In United States v. White, the Court holds that the Fifth Amendment, protecting citizens against self-incrimination, applies only to individuals -
22nd Amendment
The Twenty-second Amendment, setting a two-term limit for the office of U.S. President, is enacted. -
OCRS
The Organized Crime and Racketeering Section (OCRS) is created to more systematically prosecute organized crime. -
Fraud Section
The Fraud Section is established. -
Civil Rights
The functions of the Civil Rights Section are transferred into the newly created Civil Rights Division. -
William J. Brennan
Supreme court Justice appointed by Dwight D. Eisenhower. -
Charles Evans Whittaker
Supreme court justice appointed by Dwight D. Eisenhower -
Lassiter v. Northampton County Board of Elections
The Court rejects a black citizen's challenge to a state literacy test in Lassiter v. Northampton County Board of Elections, holding that because the test is applied equally to all races, it is not discriminatory. -
Potter Stewart
Supreme court justice appointed by Dwight D. Eisenhower -
Mapp v. Ohio
In Mapp v. Ohio, the Court applies the Exclusionary Rule, which bars the admission of evidence obtained via an illegal search and seizure, to state courts. -
Hoyt v. Florida
The Court upholds as constitutional a Florida statute exempting women from jury duty unless they voluntarily register to be called. Woman were still considered the center and home of family life. -
Byron White
Supreme court Justice appointed by John F. Kennedy -
Arthur Goldberg
Supreme court Justice appointed by John F. Kennedy. -
Gideon v. Wainwright
In Gideon v. Wainwright, the Court held that states must provide a free attorney to all indigent criminal defendants. -
Reynolds v. Sims
The process of urbanization has left rural districts in many states wielding disproportionate political power -
24th Amendment
The Twenty-fourth Amendment prohibits poll taxes, making it illegal to charge any voter for the right to vote in federal elections -
Abe Fortas
Supreme court Justice appointed by Lyndon B. Johnson -
Roe v. Wade
The Court issues its landmark decision in Roe v. Wade, striking as unconstitutional a Texas anti-abortion law. The 7-2 decision draws on the 1965 Griswold precedent in holding that the right to privacy extends, for women, to include the right to seek an abortion. -
Miranda rights
The decision states that before questioning a suspect, police must explain that he or she retains the right to remain silent, that any statements he or she makes may be used as evidence against him or her in court, and that he or she has the right to an attorney, who will be appointed if the suspect cannot otherwise afford one. -
Thurgood Marshall
Supreme court justice appointed by Lyndon B. Johnson -
The Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section
The Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section is created to maximize coordination between federal investigation and prosecution efforts. -
Warren E. Burger
Supreme court justice appointed by Richard Nixon. -
Harry Blackmun
Supreme court justice appointed by Richard Nixon -
Voting Age
The Twenty-sixth Amendment lowers the minimum voting age from 21 to 18. -
Lewis F. Powell Jr.
Supreme court justice appointed by Richard Nixon -
William Rehnquist
Supreme court justice appointed by Richard Nixon -
McKeiver v. Pennsylvania
In McKeiver v. Pennsylvania, the Court holds that the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial does not apply to juveniles if they are tried in juvenile court. -
John Paul Stevens
Supreme court justice appointed by Gerald Ford -
Watergate
In the wake of the Watergate scandal, the Public Integrity Section is created. -
Ingraham v. Wright
In Ingraham v. Wright, the Court holds that the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against "cruel and unusual" punishment applies only to criminal offenses and therefore does not bar the use of corporal punishment in schools. -
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
A university may use race as a criterion in its admissions process, as long as it is only one of many factors under consideration and no "fixed quotas" exist. -
Sandra Day O'Connor
Supreme court justice appointed by Ronald Reagan -
US Court of Appeals
In an effort to further streamline the appeals process and to relieve growing pressure on the Supreme Court, Congress establishes a national court of appeals defined by its jurisdiction rather than by geography. This US Court of Appeals will screen appeal petitions and decide cases before they reach the Supreme Court. -
Isolation
This year marked the first occurrence of "permanent lock down" mode in US prisons (23 hour long periods of cell isolation, with communal yard time for all inmates, work, educational programs and meals in cafeteria). -
The Office of Asset Forfeiture
The Office of Asset Forfeiture is created. In 1991, the Money Laundering Section would be created. -
Wallace v. Jaffree
In Wallace v. Jaffree, the Court overturns an Alabama law authorizing public school teachers to lead "willing students" in prayer to "Almighty God" at the start of the school day. -
Bowers v. Hardwick
In refusing to extend the right to privacy to include sexual acts between consenting homosexual adults, the Court holds that states may constitutionally proscribe "any kind of private sexual conduct between consenting adults." -
Antonin Scalia
Supreme court justice appointed by Ronald Reagan -
NOEU
The National Obscenity Enforcement Unit, later called the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, is created. -
Anthony Kennedy
Supreme court justice appointed by Ronald Reagan -
Burning of the Flag
In Texas v. Johnson, a narrow 5-4 majority holds that burning the American flag is a form of "symbolic speech" protected by the First Amendment. -
David Souter
Supreme court justice appointed by George H. W. Bush -
Clarence Thomas
Supreme court justice appointed by George H. W. Bush -
Twenty-seventh Amendment
The Twenty-seventh Amendment is enacted, banning Congressional pay raises from going into effect until after the next election. -
Casey v. Planned Parenthood
Denies a woman's right to an abortion. -
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Supreme court justice appointed by Bill Clinton -
Stephen Breyer
Supreme court justice appointed by Bill Clinton -
Drug testing
It is a public school requirement that student athletes consent to random drug testing is not a violation of the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unreasonable search and seizure. -
Gun Free School Zone
The Court strikes the Gun Free School Zones Act of 1990, which had made it a federal offense "for any individual knowingly to possess a firearm at a place that the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is a school zone." -
Computer Crime
The Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section is established. -
VMI
The Court votes 7-1 to strike the long-standing male-only admission policy at the Virginia Military Institute, the nation's last all-male public school as a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. -
Lawrence v. Texas
The Court strikes the Texas "Homosexual Conduct" law (which criminalized sexual intimacy between gay couples but not similar actions by heterosexual couples). -
Roper v. Simmons
The Court holds that capital punishment for juveniles aged 17 and younger is "cruel and unusual" punishment and therefore a violation of the Eighth Amendment. -
John Roberts
Supreme court justice appointed by George W. Bush -
Gang Crime
The Gang Unit is created to target gang-related crime. The Counter terrorism and Counterespionage Sections are transferred into the newly-created National Security Division. -
Samuel Alito
Supreme court justice appointed by George W. Bush -
Sonia Sotomayor
Supreme court justice appointed by Barack Obama -
Elena Kagan
Supreme court justice appointed by Barack Obama -
Neil Gorsuch
Supreme court Justice appointed by Donald Trump
