Field, Stephen J.
$110.00
Card signed as Associate Justice (1863-99)
Description
Autograph ID: 7186
Condition: Very good
Description: “(1816-1899) Associate Justice 1863-1897. Brother of David Dudley Field and Cyrus Field, uncle of Justice David J. Brewer. To California 1848, 5th Chief Justice of California Supreme Court 1857-63. Lincoln appointed him to newly created 10th Supreme Court seat to achieve regional balance (Westerner), political balance (Unionist Democrat) and to give the Court someone familiar with real estate and mining issues. Proponent of substantive due process that protected property rights from regulation under the 14th Amendment, as illustrated in his dissents to “The Slaughterhouse Cases” and Munn v. Illinois. Helped end the income tax (Pollock v. Farmers’ Loan and Trust Company), limited anti-trust law (US v. E.C. Knight Company), and the power of the Interstate Commerce Commission. In California, he wrote opinions against California laws discriminating against Chinese immigrants to that state; however, Justice Field dissented in Strauder v. West Virginia, which held that excluding African-Americans from a jury that convicted an African-American of murder violated the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. He also joined the majority in Plessy v. Ferguson which upheld racial segregation. Served on 1877 Electoral Commission to settle 1876 election, voting with Democrats on all issues.
2 ¼ x 4 gilt-edged card signed as “Justice of U.S. Supreme Court””
Type: Signed Card
