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Spotlight

Federal Judicial History

The Center conducts research and produces resources on the history of the judicial branch of the federal government.  These resources include compilations of historical data on the courts, information about judges and judicial administration, as well as publications on federal judicial history. The Center also maintains a biographical directory of Article III judges from 1789 to the present, engages in outreach and education on federal judicial history, and works to promote the preservation of the history of the judicial branch.

Spotlight on Judicial History

NFL Television Broadcasting and the Federal Courts (posted 1/24/2023)
Baseball's Reserve Clause and the "Antitrust Exemption" (posted 5/18/2022)
Native Prohibition in the Federal Courts (posted 3/1/2022)

Timelines of Federal Judicial History

Twitter Feed (@FedJudicialHist)

  • Senior U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler (D.C.) died March 16 at age 85 https://t.co/k8UeLMxfzL https://t.co/oZ51q7pZ2P
    3 days 8 hours ago
  • 26/ The Munemitsus were released from internment after the war and returned to their asparagus farm. The Mendezes used the money they had made on the farm to buy another café and then returned to Santa Ana, where the children enrolled in a formerly all-white school. /end
    5 days 11 hours ago
  • 25/ The case became well-known and has received historical recognition in many forms, thanks in large part to the efforts of Sylvia Mendez, who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2010. https://t.co/QAXEv04zhh
    5 days 11 hours ago
  • 24/ The Mendez case was highly influential, however, particularly for the way that it helped to guide the NAACP's strategy in the Brown litigation. The case has also been said to have influenced the thinking of then-governor Warren.
    5 days 11 hours ago
  • 23/ Many opponents of segregation, including the NAACP (which wrote an amicus brief in the Mendez appeal), hoped that the Mendez case would lead to the overturning of Plessy, but the case did not reach the Supreme Court.
    5 days 11 hours ago

Pages

Debates on the Federal Judiciary: A Documentary History

This three-volume series presents historical documents related to significant debates about the federal judiciary.

Volume I: 1787-1875
The first volume traces the long process of defining the judiciary within the relatively brief outline provided by the Constitution.

Volume II: 1875-1939
Volume II introduces readers to public debates on proposals to alter the organization, jurisdiction, and administration of the federal courts, as well as the tenure and authority of federal judges, during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. 

Volume III: 1939-2005
The concluding volume of the series covers debates concerning structural changes to the federal courts, criminal justice reform, proposed civil justice initiatives, and the discipline of federal judges.

Approaches to Federal Judicial History

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This volume presents a range of scholarly approaches to the field of federal judicial history. Essays by scholars and public historians evaluate the current state of the field and offer insights into new potential areas of study.

To submit questions about federal judicial history, email us at history@fjc.gov.