Fortas, Abe

Born June 19, 1910, in Memphis, TN
Died April 5, 1982, in Washington, DC

Federal Judicial Service:
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States
Nominated by Lyndon B. Johnson on July 28, 1965, to a seat vacated by Arthur J. Goldberg. Confirmed by the Senate on August 11, 1965, and received commission on August 11, 1965. Service terminated on May 14, 1969, due to resignation.

Supreme Court Oath:
October 4, 1965

Allotment as Circuit Justice:

First Circuit, October 11, 1965-May 14, 1969
Seventh Circuit, June 16, 1967-October 8, 1967

Education:
Southwestern College (now Rhodes College), A.B., 1930
Yale Law School, LL.B., 1933

Professional Career:

Assistant chief, Legal Division, Agricultural Adjustment Administration, 1933-1934
Assistant professor of law, Yale Law School, 1934-1939
Assistant director, Corporate Reorganization Study, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 1935-1937
Assistant director, Public Utilities Division, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 1937-1939
General counsel, Bituminous Coal Division, Public Works Administration, 1939-1941
Director, Division of Power, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1941-1942
Undersecretary of the interior, 1942-1946
Private practice, Washington, D.C., 1946-1965, 1969-1982

Other Nominations/Recess Appointments:

Nominated to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, June 26, 1968; nomination withdrawn by president, October 4, 1968

Bibliography

Friedman, Milton V. “Abe Fortas: A Man of Courage.” Yale Law Journal, vol. 91 (May 1982): 1052-61.

Heckart, Ronald J. “Justice Fortas and the First Amendment.” Ph.D. Diss., State University of New York at Albany, 1973.

Kalman, Laura. Abe Fortas: A Biography. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1990.

Miscamble, Wilson D. “Thurman Arnold Goes to Washington: A Look at Anti-Trust Policy in the Later New Deal.” Business History Review, vol. 56 (1982): 1-15.

Murphy, Bruce Allen. Fortas: The Rise and Ruin of a Supreme Court Justice. New York: William Morrow, 1988.

Roth, Larry M. “Remembering 1965: Abe Fortas and the Supreme Court.” Mercer Law Review, vol. 28 (Summer 1977): 961-76.

Shogan, Robert. A Question of Judgement: The Fortas Case and the Struggle for the Supreme Court. New York: Bobbs-Merrill, Co., 1972.

Tanenbaum, Donald G. “Explaining Controversial Nominations: The Fortas Case Revisited.” Presidential Studies Quarterly, vol. 17, no. 3 (Summer 1987): 573-86.

“Mr. Justice Fortas.” American Bar Association Journal, vol. 51, no. 9 (Sep. 1965): 834.

Manuscript Collections

American Jewish Historical Society
Waltham, Mass.
Abe Fortas letter and statements, 1968.
4 items; material concerning Fortas's nomination to be Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Yale University
Sterling Memorial Library
New Haven, Conn.
Abe Fortas papers, 1935-1983.
100.75 linear ft.; finding aid; Supreme Court materials, writings, an unpublished typescript by Fortas titled "The Constitution and the Presidency," and photographs.

Oral History

Fortas, Abe. "Abe Fortas Oral History Interview I." Interview conducted on August 14, 1969, by Joe B. Frantz. Lyndon B. Johnson Library, Austin, Texas. Transcript, 37 pages.http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/johnson/archives.hom/oralhistory.hom/fortas...

Fortas, Abe. "The Reminiscences of Abe Fortas." James Lawrence Fly Project, Oral History Research Office, Butler Library, Columbia University, New York, 1967. Transcript, 11 pages.

Fortas, Abe. "The Reminiscences of Abe Fortas." Federated Department Stores Project, Oral History Research Office, Butler Library, Columbia University, New York, 1965. Transcript, 9 pages. Permission required.

Federal Judicial Center

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Fortas, Abe