Sherman Minton Supreme Court portrait (Public Domain). Headlines from the Terre Haute Star and the Minneapolis Star Tribune (1949)
On Oct. 12, 1949, Hoosier Sherman Minton was sworn in as Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court after a contentious nomination and confirmation hearing process.
Minton attended Indiana University for an undergraduate degree and for law school.
The Democrat served first as United States Senator and a federal Appeals Court judge in Chicago before serving on the Supreme Court for seven years.
President Harry Truman nominated Minton on Sept. 15, 1949 to fill a vacancy left by the death of associate Justice Wiley B. Rutledge.
An article in The (Columbus) Republic, Sept. 15, 1949.
The Franklin (Indiana) Evening Star reported that Minton's nomination came as a surprise, as two other men were mentioned as favorites for the nod because they were Catholics.
The (Muncie) Star press reported Sen. Homer E. Capehart of Indiana was disappointed that the President didn't name a Republican, "'to maintain a bi-partisan representation.' But he expressed satisfaction that the President chose a Hoosier."
Confirmation Hearings
Minton did not testify to the Senate Judiciary Committee before the full Senate voted on his confirmation, which some found problematic.
The Associated Press reported that the committee at first ordered Minton to appear, but withdrew that order when Minton said he thought it would be inappropriate for him to testify.
"[It] raises a serious question of propriety, particularly when I might be required to express my views on highly controversial and litigious issues affecting the court," Minton wrote.
So the committee voted 9 to 2 to forward the nomination to the full Senate.
On Oct. 4, two Republican Senators proposed a measure to send the nomination back to the Judiciary Committee with instructions to require testimony from Minton.
That proposal failed on a 45 to 21 vote, and the Senate voted to confirm Minton with a vote of 48 to 16.
At issue was Minton's previous support of President Roosevelt's effort to add more justices to the Supreme Court, after it struck down several of his "New Deal" measures. AP reported at least one Senator wanted to question Minton about his support for the "court-packing" plan and his highly partisan political career.
But Sen. Jenner, a Republican of Indiana, said "there is every indication he (Minton) has abandoned his radical beliefs."
On Oct. 12, Minton took the oath as associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court in a ceremony on the White House porch outside President Truman's office.
"I've got a duty to perform which is one of the most pleasurable in my political career," Truman said during the ceremony. "I'm handing Mr. Justice Minton his commission as member of the greatest court in the world."
Record on the Court
According to the Maurer School of Law, Minton was known for his "broad view of powers and for his abhorrence of racial segregation, which he voted to strike down in Brown V. Board of Education."
Despite his liberal politics while a Senator, Minton believed the judiciary "should not intrude on the actions of the other branches unless absolutely required," according to the American Law and Legal Information Law Library.
Historian Bernard Donahoe says Minton was an "ardent New Deal liberal in the 1930s" that became a "rock solid believer in judicial restraint and a defender of governmentla power at the expense of the individuals's civil rights."
Minton retired from the court in 1956 due to health problems. He died in 1965.
