Stanley Forman Reed

Stanley Forman Reed
Harris & Ewing · Public domain · source
Name	Stanley Forman Reed
Caption	Reed in 1938
Office	Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Nominator	Franklin D. Roosevelt
Term start	January 31, 1938
Term end	February 25, 1957
Predecessor	George Sutherland
Successor	Charles Evans Whittaker
Office1	Solicitor General of the United States
President1	Franklin D. Roosevelt
Term start1	March 23, 1935
Term end1	January 30, 1938
Predecessor1	James Crawford Biggs
Successor1	Robert H. Jackson
Birth date	31 December 1884
Birth place	Maysville, Kentucky, U.S.
Death date	2 April 1980
Death place	Huntington, New York, U.S.
Party	Democratic
Education	Kentucky Wesleyan College (BA), University of Virginia, Columbia University (LLB), University of Paris
Spouse	Winifred Elgin, 1908, 1962

Stanley Forman Reed was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States who served from 1938 to 1957. Appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, he was a key transitional figure on the Court, often aligning with the New Deal coalition. His jurisprudence, particularly in the years leading up to the landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education, played a significant role in the legal groundwork that would eventually dismantle racial segregation in the United States.

Early life and legal career

Stanley Forman Reed was born in Maysville, Kentucky, in 1884. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Kentucky Wesleyan College and later studied law at the University of Virginia, Columbia Law School, and the University of Paris. After being admitted to the Kentucky bar, he practiced law privately and served in the Kentucky General Assembly. His early career was marked by corporate and agricultural law, representing clients like the Burley Tobacco Growers Association. This work brought him to the attention of national Democratic leaders. In 1929, he was appointed general counsel for the Federal Farm Board under President Herbert Hoover, and later served as general counsel for the Reconstruction Finance Corporation during the early years of the Roosevelt administration. His successful defense of New Deal programs before the Supreme Court led to his appointment as Solicitor General of the United States in 1935.

Appointment to the Supreme Court

President Franklin D. Roosevelt nominated Reed to the Supreme Court on January 15, 1938, to fill the seat vacated by the retiring conservative Justice George Sutherland. Reed's confirmation by the United States Senate was swift, reflecting both his proven loyalty to the New Deal and Roosevelt's desire to appoint justices supportive of federal economic regulation. He took his judicial oath on January 31, 1938. As a Roosevelt appointee, Reed was expected to be part of the new liberal majority that would uphold expansive federal power, a shift that proved crucial for future civil rights legislation.

Key civil rights jurisprudence

Justice Reed's record on civil rights was complex and evolved over time. Initially, he often sided with the Court's restraint in overturning state laws, including some related to race. However, he authored several important opinions that chipped away at the legal foundations of segregation. In Smith v. Allwright (1944), he wrote for the majority, ruling that the White primary used by the Democratic Party in Texas was unconstitutional, a major victory for African-American voting rights. In Morgan v. Virginia (1946), he wrote the opinion striking down a state law requiring segregation on interstate buses as an undue burden on interstate commerce. While not based on the Equal Protection Clause, this decision was a significant blow to Jim Crow laws.

Role in dismantling segregation

Reed's most direct role in the fight against segregation came in the cases leading to Brown v. Board of Education. In Sweatt v. Painter (1950) and McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents (1950), which challenged segregation in graduate education, Reed was part of the unanimous Court that found the provided facilities were not substantially equal. These decisions undermined the "separate but equal" doctrine established in Plessy v. Ferguson. When Brown was first argued in 1952, Reed was initially inclined to uphold segregation, fearing social upheaval. However, after reargument in 1953, he joined Chief Justice Earl Warren's unanimous 1954 opinion declaring segregated public schools inherently unequal and unconstitutional. His vote was critical to achieving a united Court.

Relationship with other justices

On the Court, Reed was generally aligned with fellow Roosevelt appointees like Hugo Black, Felix Frankfurter, and William O. Douglas on matters of economic regulation. However, on civil rights, his relationships reflected the Court's internal debates. He shared a cautious, incremental approach with Justice Frankfurter, who often urged judicial restraint. This sometimes put him at odds with more absolutist civil rights advocates like Justice Black. His willingness to ultimately join the unanimous Brown decision was heavily influenced by the diplomatic leadership of Chief Justice Warren and the persuasive legal arguments from California|Earl, Texas. Reed's efforts to the Court, and the Court's, and the Court's, legal arguments of the American voting rights. 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