February 27, 1886: Birth of Hugo Lafayette Black

Today is the 125th birthday of Hugo Lafayette Black, the first of nine Supreme Court justices nominated by Franklin D. Roosevelt. Hugo Black represented Alabama in the United States Senate from 1927 to 1937. He was then nominated as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, where he would serve from 1937 to shortly before his death in 1971.

For more information about Hugo Black, check out these resources:

Hugo Lafayette Black
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

Hugo Black of Alabama
Webinar, Library of Congress

Hugo Black
Federal Bureau of Investigation

Hugo Black
Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, Federal Judiciary Center

Hugo Black: A Featured Biography
United States Senate




Sonnet Ireland
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Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Urban Studies, Engineering

Meet the Press with Sen. Chuck Schumer and Sen. Mitch McConnell (5/16/2010)

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Sonnet Erin Brown
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Face the Nation with Sen. Jon Kyl and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (5/16/2010)

Watch CBS News Videos Online






Sonnet Erin Brown
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Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
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President Obama Nominates Elena Kagan for Supreme Court Justice (5/10/2010)

Sonnet Erin Brown
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Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Engineering

Judge Sonia Sotomayor Sworn In (8/8/2009)

Sonnet Erin Brown
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Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy

Judge Sonia Sotomayor Senate Confirmation

This afternoon, the U.S. Senate confirmed Judge Sonia Sotomayor. She will be the 111th Supreme Court Justice. She is the third female Justice in the history of the Court, and the first Hispanic Justice.

Read President Barack Obama's Statement here.

See exactly who voted yea and nay here.

Judge Sonia Sotomayor: Analysis of Selected Opinions (Congressional Research Service)



Sonnet Erin Brown
Head of Federal Documents
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Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy

U.S. Supreme Court: Associate Justice Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr.

Associate Justice Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr. was born in Trenton, New Jersey.  He is a graduate of Princeton University and Yale Law School.  President George W. Bush nominated him as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court; he took his seat on January 31, 2006, replacing Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court.

For more information, check out the biographies of current Justices here.

Also, check out his biography on The Oyez Project here.

Sonnet Erin Brown
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy

U.S. Supreme Court: Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is from Brooklyn, New York.  She received her B.A. from Cornell University.  She also attended Harvard Law School and received her LL.B. from Columbia Law School.  She was instrumental in launching the Women's Rights Project of the ACLU in 1971.  President Bill Clinton nominated her as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court; she took her seat on August 10, 1993, replacing Associate Justice Byron White and becoming only the second woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court. 

For more information, check out the biographies of current Justices here.

Also, check out his biography on The Oyez Project here.

Sonnet Erin Brown
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy

U.S. Supreme Court: Associate Justice Clarence Thomas

Associate Justice Clarence Thomas was born in the Pin Point community of Georgia (near Savannah).  He received his A.B., cum laude, from Holy Cross College and his J.D. from Yale Law School.  President George H.W. Bush nominated him as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court; he took his seat on October 23, 1991, replacing Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall (the first African-American to be appointed to the Supreme Court). 

For more information, check out the biographies of current Justices here.

Also, check out his biography on The Oyez Project here.

Sonnet Erin Brown
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy

U.S. Supreme Court: Associate Justice David Hackett Souter

Associate Justice David Hackett Souter is from Melrose, Massachusetts.  He received his A.B. from Harvard College.  He was also a Rhodes Scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford.  He would later receive an A.B. in Jurisprudene and an M.A. from Oxford.  He then earned an LL.B. from Harvard Law School.  President George H.W. Bush nominated him as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court; he took his seat on October 9, 1990, replacing Associate Justice William J. Brennan.  He will be retiring this year; Judge Sonia Sotomayor was nominated to replace him, but she still awaits confirmation from Congress.

For more information, check out the biographies of current Justices here.

Also, check out his biography on The Oyez Project here.

Sonnet Erin Brown
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Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy

U.S. Supreme Court: Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy

Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy was born in Sacramento, California.  He received his B.A. from Stanford University and the London School of Economics and his LL.B. from Harvard Law School. President Ronald Reagan nominated him as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court; he took his seat on February 18, 1988, replacing Associate Justice Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr.

For more information, check out the biographies of current Justices here.

Also, check out his biography on The Oyez Project here.

Sonnet Erin Brown
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy

U.S. Supreme Court: Associate Justice Antonin Scalia

Associate Justice Antonin Scalia was born in Trenton, New Jersey.  He received his A.B. from Georgetown University and the University of Fribourg, Switzerland.  He later received his LL.B. from Harvard Law School.  President Ronald Reagan nominated him as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court; he took his seat on September 26, 1986, replacing then-Associate Justice William H. Rehnquist when he was elevated to Chief Justice.

For more information, check out the biographies of current Justices here.

Also, check out his biography on The Oyez Project here.

Sonnet Erin Brown
Head of Federal Documents
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Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy

U.S. Supreme Court: Associate Justice John Paul Stevens

Associate Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. hails from Chicago, Illinois.  He attended the University of Chicago and the Northwestern University School of Law.  He served in the Navy (1945-1945); after, he served as law clerk to Justice Wiley Rutledge during the 1947 term.  President Gerald Ford nominated him as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court; he took his seat on December 19, 1975, replacing Associate Justice William O. Douglas(who, with a term of 36 years and 209 days, was the longest-serving Justice in Supreme Court history).

For more information, check out the biographies of current Justices here.

Also, check out his biography on The Oyez Project here.

Sonnet Erin Brown
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy

U.S. Supreme Court: Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. hails from Buffalo, New York.  He attended both Harvard College and Harvard Law School.  He also served as a law clerk for then-Associate Justice William H. Rehnquist.  President George W. Bush nominated him as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court; he took his seat on September 29, 2005, replacing Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist upon his death.

For more information, check out the biographies of current Justices here.

Also, check out his biography on The Oyez Project here.

Sonnet Erin Brown
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research, Political Science
Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy