When Justice William R. Day took his seat in 1903, the concept of judicial recusal at the Supreme Court had yet to take shape—and his own family would play a central role in its emergence.
In this video, Clare Cushman explores how Justice Day (1903-1922) helped establish the Justices’ recusal practice in the 1910s. He practiced nepotism in hiring his sons as law clerks, but then mostly recused himself when they argued cases before the Supreme Court. (Justice Day’s fourth son, Rufus, clerked for him for eight of the 19 Terms he served on the high bench, lived under his father’s roof, and simultaneously maintained an appellate practice before the Court.) Clare tells a fascinating tale of a loving father, talented sons, and evolving standards of judicial propriety. Two of Day’s sons would later form the firm that is now known as Jones Day. Clare draws on research from her Journal of Supreme Court History articles “Sons of Ohio: William Rufus Day, Nepotism, and his Law Clerks” and “Father on the Bench: William R. Day and Kinship Recusal.”
This discussion examines the Judiciary Act of 1925, also known as the “Judges’ Bill,” which transformed how the Supreme Court manages its docket by eliminating most mandatory appeals and establishing the writ of certiorari. The Act enabled the Court to focus on cases of significant public and constitutional importance.
Robert Post, Sterling Professor at Yale Law School, discusses the lobbying effort led by Chief Justice William Howard Taft and the Associate Justices who drafted the bill. Daniel Holt, Associate Historian with the Historical Office of the U.S. Senate, explores Congress’s response and the legislation’s enactment. The conversation is moderated by Executive Director Jim Duff.