David J. Brewer

This informative new book is the first biography of David J. Brewer, an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1889 to 1910 and certainly one of the most visible judges of his time. Michael J. Brodhead's candid account covers Brewer's entire judicial career as well as his childhood, education, personal life, and many and varied public activities. Prior to rising to the nation's highest tribunal, Brewer served as a county probate judge, a state district judge, a Kansas State Supreme Court justice, and a federal circuit court judge. He was known not only for his long tenure on the Supreme Court but also for his numerous off-the-bench statements as an orator and writer. Many of Brewer's judicial opinions and nonjudicial utterances created controversy, particularly when he confronted the reform issues of his day. The court presided over by Chief Justice Melville W. Fuller has been seen as reactionary, determined to infuse the law with social Darwinism and laissez-faire ideology. Further, the Fuller Court has been accused of hindering all legislation that might have improved the economic and social condition of the American masses. Yet, contrary to these usual assessm