Justice James Wilson
Today’s Justice of the Day is: JAMES WILSON. Justice Wilson was born on this day, September 14, in 1742.
Justice Wilson was born in Caskardy, Scotland, United Kingdom (he is one of six Members of the Supreme Court of the United States who was born overseas). He attended the University of Glasgow, the University of Edinburgh, and the University of St. Andrews, before immigrating to then-British America in 1765 to take on a teaching position at the College of Philadelphia.
Justice Wilson entered private practice in Reading, Pennsylvania in 1768, before moving to Carlisle, Pennsylvania to continue working as a private attorney from 1770 to 1774. He then left that position to become a Delegate to the Continental Congress, serving until 1777, when he started work as a businessman (involved in land speculation and legal advising) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During this time, Justice Wilson also briefly resumed his role as a Delegate, first in 1783, and then again for a two year term beginning in 1785, in addition to serving as Avocat Général for maritime and commercial causes following his appointment by the French government in 1779 (he left that office four years later). In 1787, he became a Delegate to the Federal Constitutional Convention, and returned to the College of Philadelphia to serve as a Professor of Law in 1789, where he remained until his appointment to the SCUS.
Justice Wilson was nominated by President George Washington on September 24, 1789, to a new seat authorized by Congress. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 26, and received his commission three days later. Justice Wilson took the Judicial Oath to officially join the SCUS on or around October 5 (making him the first Justice to serve in SCUS history, by some accounts), and he served out his tenure on the Jay and Ellsworth Courts. His service was terminated on August 21, 1798, due to his death.
Justice Wilson joined the SCUS before the Marshall Court had made it into a fully-fledged co-equal branch of government, and as a result, there are no particularly significant cases from the era when he served. Perhaps his most significant accomplishment while on the bench was his role as a Drafter of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1790.