Justice John Hessin Clarke
Today’s Justice of the Day is: JOHN HESSIN CLARKE. Justice Clarke was born on this day, September 18, in 1857.
Justice Clarke was born in New Lisbon, Ohio, the state from which he would be appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States. He attended Western Reserve College (now called Case Western Reserve University), earning an A.B. in 1877.
In 1878, Justice Clarke entered private practice with his father’s law firm, before relocating to Youngstown, Ohio two years later to continue working as a private attorney, now with his own firm. His seventeen years there saw him gain notoriety as a supporter of Progressive causes, like when he acquired a newspaper associated with that then-emergent movement. In 1897, Justice Clarke moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where he continued working in private practice until 1913, the year before his appointment to be a Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, a position he would hold until his appointment to the SCUS.
Justice Clarke was nominated by President Woodrow Wilson on July 14, 1916, to a seat vacated by then-Associate Justice Charles Evans Hughes. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 24, and received his commission that day. Justice Clarke took the Judicial Oath to officially join the SCUS on October 9, and he served on the White and Taft Courts. His service was terminated on September 18, 1922, due to his resignation.
Justice Clarke was generally associated with SCUS’s liberal wing in his era. He is not especially well-remembered today, which may be at least partly a function of the fact that he resigned early so that he could devote more time to promoting American participation in the ultimately-failed League of Nations.