Bradley, Joseph P.

Born March 14, 1813, in Berne, NY
Died January 22, 1892, in Washington, DC

Federal Judicial Service:
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States
Nominated by Ulysses Grant on February 7, 1870, to a new seat authorized by 16 Stat. 44. Confirmed by the Senate on March 21, 1870, and received commission on March 21, 1870. Service terminated on January 22, 1892, due to death.

Supreme Court Oath:
March 23, 1870

Allotment as Circuit Justice:

Fifth Circuit, April 4, 1870-January 9, 1881
Third Circuit, January 10, 1881-January 22, 1892
Sixth Circuit, May 2, 1881-May 17, 1881

Education:
Rutgers College, B.A., 1836
Read law, 1839

Professional Career:

Private practice, Newark, New Jersey, 1839-1870
Legislative correspondent
Actuary, Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company

Bibliography

Champagne, Anthony and Dennis Pope. “Joseph P. Bradley: An Aspect of a Judicial Personality.” Political Psychology, vol. 6, no. 3 (1985): 481-93.

Fairman, Charles. “Mr. Justice Bradley’s Appointment to the Supreme Court and the Legal Tender Cases.” Harvard Law Review, vol. 54, no. 7 (May 1941): 1128-55.

Lurie, Jonathon. “Mr. Justice Bradley: A Reassessment.” Seton Hall Law Review, vol. 16, no. 2 (1986): 343-76.

Stern, Horace. “Joseph P. Bradley, 1813-1892” in Lewis, William Draper, ed. Great American Lawyers: The Lives and Influence of Judges and Lawyers Who Have Acquired Permanent National Reputation, and Have Developed the Jurisprudence of the United States, vol. VI. Philadelphia: John C. Winston Co., 1909, 541-86.

Whiteside, Ruth A. “Justice Joseph Bradley and the Reconstruction Amendments.” Ph.D. Diss., Rice University, 1981.

________. “A ‘Social Secret’ Revealed: Mr. Justice Bradley and the Rights of Women.” Women Lawyers Journal, vol. 62 (Summer 1976): 125-8.

Manuscript Collections

Harvard University Law School
Cambridge, Mass.
Joseph P. Bradley letters and autograph, 1870-1891.
5 pages; collection contains letters from Bradley to L.J. Cist (1870), Horace Gray (1885), and Irving Upson (1891).

New Jersey Historical Society
Newark, N.J.
Joseph P. Bradley papers, 1836-1937.
15 ft. (ca. 5,000 items); finding aid; collection contains correspondence, diaries (1843-1891), speeches, journal of law cases (1842-1869), legal papers, and other material.

Rutgers University
Center for Law and Justice
Newark, N.J.
Joseph P. Bradley docket books, 1869-1891, and law books.
Collection contains Bradley's personal Supreme Court docket books (39 v.) and a substantial portion of his law library (ca. 800 titles and 1,500 v.).

South Texas College of Law
Houston, Tex.
Joseph P. Bradley collection, n.d.
1 box; finding aid; collection contains published speeches and writings, legal materials, and other printed material.

Federal Judicial Center

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Bradley, Joseph P.