Abe Fortas biography

Synopsis

Early Life

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, on June 19, 1910, Abraham Fortas has the dubious distinction of being the first U.S. Supreme Court justice to resign in the midst of a scandal. Fortas came from modest beginnings. Both of his parents were Jewish immigrants who ran a store together, with his father also working as a cabinet maker. Fortas was the youngest of the couple's five children.

A bright student, Abe Fortas excelled at his studies. He graduated at the top of his class at Southwestern College (later renamed Rhodes College) in Memphis. After graduating in 1930, Fortas attended Yale Law School, where he served as editor of the university's law journal. He completed his law degree in 1933, joining the law school's faculty soon after. While teaching at Yale, Fortas also began work for the newly formed Securities and Exchange Commission. He would take a full-time post with the commission in the late 1930s.

Law Career

In 1939, Abe Fortas became general counsel for the Public Works Administrative. In 1941, he joined the Department of the Interior, becoming the government office's undersecretary the following year. Not long after World War II ended, Fortas went into private practice, co-founding the prominent Washington law firm of Arnold, Fortas & Porter.

Around this same time, Fortas befriended Texas politician Lyndon B. Johnson, to whom he became a trusted adviser when Johnson became president in 1963. Two years later, Johnson picked Fortas for the U.S. Supreme Court; he wanted Fortas to replace Arthur Goldberg, who resigned to become U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Controversial Supreme Court Justice

Fortas joined the court as an associate justice in 1965. The following year, he was among the judges who supported the landmark decision in Miranda v. Arizona, which made it mandatory for the police to inform suspects of their rights when being placed under arrest. In 1967, Fortas ruled in favor of upholding the rights of due process for juveniles in the famous Gault case.

Johnson nominated Fortas to take over for retiring Chief Justice Earl Warren in 1968. During a Congressional hearing on his nomination, Fortas found himself under intense scrutiny from conservative legislators. Some objected to him receiving $15,000 in speaking fees for lectures he gave at American University. The money for these talks had been raised through contributions from roughly 40 companies. Senator Strom Thurmond was among those that questioned whether Fortas would be able to be objective if these firms had cases in front of the Supreme Court.

The conservatives in the Senate refused to end the debate on Fortas, effectively filibustering the nomination.