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The Supreme Court Building of the United States

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The Supreme Court Building of the United States

The Supreme Court Building is the Official residence and workplace of the Supreme Court Justices of the United States. This building was also referred to as The Marble Palace by John P. Frank[1], and is located at One First Street within a mile proximity of the Library of Congress, NE Washington[2]. The physical construction of this building began in 1932 and was completed in 1935, however the idea to create this building originated from William Howard Taft in 1912[2] and was officially completed under the guidance of Chief Justice Hughes in 1939[2]. The building was designed by Cass Gilbert, who was a well known architect and friend to Justice Taft.[3]

Motivations behind Creating the Supreme Court Building

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The Construction of the Supreme Court Building

Chief Justice William Howard Taft

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From 1860 to 1935, the Supreme Court Justices were designated to conduct their work within the cramped space of the old Senate Chamber[4] alongside other federal government employees. This environment discouraged the Supreme Court Justices from travelling to Washington, so they conducted most of their work from their homes.[5] Through the rigorous lobbying efforts of Chief Justice Taft, he was able to secure the funding needed from Congress for a Supreme Court building in 1929.[5] Taft's motivations for a Supreme Court building were fueled by the relationship between the judicial branch with the executive and legislative branches,[6] as well as the drastic difference in his working environment from when he served as President of the United States to when he served as the Chief Supreme Court Justice. As Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Taft envisioned the judicial branch of government to embody a persona of independence, and therefore saw the Supreme Court building as a means of establishing his vision.[7]

Cass Gilbert

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Cass Gilbert was a long time friend to William Howard Taft, and was employed by McKim, Mead and White for several years. During Cass's period of employment, McKim, Mead and White was regarded as the largest architectural firm in the world.[8] Chief Justice Taft personally appointed Gilbert for the architectural planning and construction of the Supreme Court building.[6] Gilbert was not particularly concerned with the function of the Supreme Court building for the Supreme Court Justices; however, the respect Gilbert had for Chief Justice Taft compelled him to design the building as a testament to his friend's honor.[3] Gilbert's architectural imagination resulted in a neoclassical Roman styled temple which was intended to communicate the inherent royalty of law.[7]

Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes

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The Supreme Court building would have not been completed without the commitment of Justice Hughes to continue Chief Justice Taft's legacy.[6] Before the birth of the Supreme Court building, Justice Frankfurter and Justice Hughes were vocally outspoken about the poor conditions of their working environment and described the Old Senate Chamber as small, overheated, and barren.[7] Furthermore, Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes was appointed as a Supreme Court Justice by William Howard Taft in 1910 when Taft served as President of the United States.[9] Justice Hughes' confirmation to Chief Justice in 1930 was opposed by many because of his the abundant frequency of cases he took part in as a lawyer defending the corporations that were responsible for the depression,[9]nonetheless he was instrumental in continuing Taft's legacy within the judicial branch of the United States government.

Opposition to the Supreme Court Building

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Interior of the Supreme Court Building

Chief Justice White was part of the initial resistance to the idea of a Supreme Court bulling. He argued that the Supreme Court obtained its relevance because of its location within the Capitol.[7] Many Justices in addition to Justice White refused to conduct their work within the building, and remained in the confines of their homes.[7] The familiarity of their work spaces at home naturally discouraged the justices from operating in a completely new location, and they were also given funding by congress[8] to work from home.

Justice Harlan Stone and Justice Brandeis did not move into the new Supreme Court Building during their service on the court.[10] Justice Brandeis believed that Taft's intentions behind the new building represented a conflict between the judicial branch and the executive and legislative branches of government.[10] Justice Brandeis also opposed Chief Justice Taft's efforts to secure a new Supreme Court building by suggesting that a new wing should be added to the capitol to avoid having to work from home;[10] however Chief Justice Taft was relentless in pursuing his vision for the Supreme Court. A decade after the Supreme Court building was complete, all nine justices occupied an office within its body[11]. This is primarily because the justices that did not favor the new Supreme Court Building were eventually replaced by new justices who were not as familiar with working from home.[5]

The main opposition to the creation of the Supreme Court building was congress particularly during Taft’s position as Chief Justice from 1921 to 1929. Taft faced opposition from Senators in congress such as the likes of Senator Curtis who threatened to replace Justice Taft if he continued to protest his working conditions.[8] In 1927 Taft noticed one Senator out of the total ninety-six who urgently supported his lobbying efforts only because this senator wanted the space the justices occupied at that time for the Senate.[12]  

Bibliography

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[2] [8] [1] [5] [7] [4] [6] [3] [11] [10] [9] [12]

  1. ^ a b Nelson, Garrison. Pathways to the US Supreme Court: From the Arena to the Monastery. , 2013. Print.
  2. ^ a b c d The Supreme Court of the United States: Its Beginnings & Its Justices, 1790-1991. , 1992. Print.
  3. ^ a b c Lucille A. Roussin*. "SYMPOSIUM: THE CULTURAL IDENTITY AND LEGAL PROTECTION OF ART: The Temple of American Justice: The United States Supreme Court Building." Chapman Law Review, 20, 51 Winter, 2017. https://advance-lexis-com.erl.lib.byu.edu/api/document?collection=analytical-materials&id=urn:contentItem:5NFD-5H10-00B1-815K-00000-00&context=1516831.
  4. ^ a b Rehnquist, William H. The Supreme Court. New York: Knopf, 2001. Print.
  5. ^ a b c d Baum, Lawrence. The Supreme Court. , 2019. Print.
  6. ^ a b c d Robert Post. "ARTICLE:The Supreme Court Opinion as Institutional Practice: Dissent, Legal Scholarship, and Decisionmaking in the Taft Court." Minnesota Law Review, 85, 1267 May, 2001. https://advance-lexis-com.erl.lib.byu.edu/api/document?collection=analytical-materials&id=urn:contentItem:43C5-GK20-00CW-81K9-00000-00&context=1516831.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Schwartz, Bernard. A History of the Supreme Court. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
  8. ^ a b c d Maroon, Fred J, and Suzy Maroon. The Supreme Court of the United States. New York: Thomasson-Grant & Lickle, 1996. Print.
  9. ^ a b c Latham, Frank Brown. "FDR and the Supreme Court fight, 1937; a President tries to reorganize the Federal judiciary. New York: Franklin Watts, 1972. Print.
  10. ^ a b c d Douglas, William O. The Court Years, 1939-1975: The Autobiography of William O. Douglas. New York: Random House, 1980. Print.
  11. ^ a b By Tracy W. Cary. "ARTICLE: OYEZ! OYEZ! OYEZ! ADMISSION TO THE BAR OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA." The Alabama Lawyer, July, 2004. https://advance-lexis-com.erl.lib.byu.edu/api/document?collection=analytical-materials&id=urn:contentItem:4D3R-1450-00BT-414N-00000-00&context=1516831.
  12. ^ a b Warren, Earl. “Chief Justice William Howard Taft.” The Yale Law Journal, vol. 67, no. 3, 1958, pp. 353–362. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/793882.