Potter Stewart
Potter Stewart | |
|---|---|
Official portrait, 1976 | |
| Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States | |
| In office October 14, 1958 – July 3, 1981 | |
| Nominated by | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| Preceded by | Harold H. Burton |
| Succeeded by | Sandra Day O'Connor |
| Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit | |
| In office April 27, 1954 – October 13, 1958 | |
| Nominated by | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| Preceded by | Xenophon Hicks |
| Succeeded by | Lester LeFevre Cecil |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 23, 1915 Jackson, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | December 7, 1985 (aged 70) Hanover, New Hampshire, U.S. |
| Resting place | Arlington National Cemetery |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Mary Ann Bertles (m. 1943) |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent |
|
| Education | Yale University (BA, LLB) University of Cambridge |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | |
| Years of service | 1941–1945 |
| Rank | Lieutenant (junior grade) |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Potter Stewart (January 23, 1915 – December 7, 1985) was an American lawyer and judge who was an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1958 to 1981. During his tenure, he made major contributions to criminal justice reform, civil rights, access to the courts, and Fourth Amendment jurisprudence.
After graduating from Yale Law School in 1941, Stewart served in World War II as a member of the United States Navy Reserve. After the war, he practiced law and served on the Cincinnati city council. In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Stewart to a judgeship on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. In 1958, Eisenhower nominated Stewart to succeed retiring Associate Justice Harold Hitz Burton, and Stewart won Senate confirmation afterwards. He was frequently in the minority during the Warren Court but emerged as a centrist swing vote on the Burger Court. Stewart retired in 1981 and was succeeded by the first female United States Supreme Court justice, Sandra Day O'Connor.
Stewart wrote the majority opinion in cases such as Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co., Katz v. United States, Chimel v. California, and Sierra Club v. Morton. He wrote dissenting opinions in cases such as Engel v. Vitale, In re Gault and Griswold v. Connecticut. He popularized the phrase "I know it when I see it" with a concurring opinion in Jacobellis v. Ohio, in which a theater owner had been fined for showing a supposedly obscene film. Upon announcing his retirement in 1981, when asked if he had any regrets from his time on the Court, he humorously lamented "In a way, I regret having once said about obscenity 'I know it when I see it' because I think that's gonna be on my tombstone."