Charles Evans Whittaker
Encyclopedia
Charles Evans Whittaker (February 22, 1901 – November 26, 1973) was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1957 to 1962.
, and attended school until he dropped out in the ninth grade. He spent the next two years hunting, trapping and farming, but developed an interest in law by reading newspaper articles about criminal trials. He applied to the Kansas City School of Law (currently the University of Missouri–Kansas City
School of Law) and gained admission with the condition that he first acquire a high school education. He spent two years working, and taking high school courses from a private tutor before enrolling. While he was a student at the school, from 1922 to 1924, Harry S. Truman
was a classmate. He received his law degree in 1924.
Whittaker joined the law firm of Watson, Ess, Marshall & Enggas in Kansas City, Missouri
and built up a practice in corporate law
. He had close ties to the Republican party. This led to his first appointment as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri
on July 8, 1954. He then was nominated to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals
on June 5, 1956.
, a court of appeals
, and then the Supreme Court
. (Justice Samuel Blatchford
also served at all three levels of the federal judiciary, but the court system was configured slightly differently at that time.)
On the closely divided Supreme Court, Whittaker was a swing vote. According to Professor Howard Ball, Whittaker was an "extremely weak, vacillating" justice who was "courted by the two cliques on the Court because his vote was generally up in the air and typically went to the group that made the last, but not necessarily the best, argument."
Whittaker failed to develop a consistent judicial philosophy, and reportedly felt himself not as qualified as some of the other members of the court. After agonizing deeply for months over his vote in Baker v. Carr
, an important reapportionment case, Whittaker suffered a nervous breakdown
in the spring of 1962. At the behest of Chief Justice Earl Warren
, Whittaker retired from the Court effective March 31, 1962, citing exhaustion from the workload. Thereafter, Whittaker asked Warren to designate him to serve on temporary assignments as a judge of lower federal courts from time to time, but Warren consistently declined.
, decrying the civil disobedience
of the type practiced by Martin Luther King, Jr.
and his followers as lawless. Like many conservatives, he criticized the Civil Rights Act of 1964
as unconstitutional.
Whittaker died in 1973 at St. Luke's Hospital
in Kansas City of a ruptured abdominal aneurysm
. He was survived by his wife, Winifred, and three sons, Charles Keith, Kent C. and Gary T.
The federal courthouse in downtown Kansas City
, Missouri, which houses the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri
, is named in memory of Whittaker.
Early years
Whittaker was born on a farm near Troy, KansasTroy, Kansas
Troy is a city in and the county seat of Doniphan County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,010. Troy is part of the St. Joseph, MO–KS Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, and attended school until he dropped out in the ninth grade. He spent the next two years hunting, trapping and farming, but developed an interest in law by reading newspaper articles about criminal trials. He applied to the Kansas City School of Law (currently the University of Missouri–Kansas City
University of Missouri–Kansas City
The University of Missouri–Kansas City is a public university located in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. It is a branch of the University of Missouri System. Its main campus is in Kansas City's Rockhill neighborhood east of the Country Club Plaza...
School of Law) and gained admission with the condition that he first acquire a high school education. He spent two years working, and taking high school courses from a private tutor before enrolling. While he was a student at the school, from 1922 to 1924, Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
was a classmate. He received his law degree in 1924.
Whittaker joined the law firm of Watson, Ess, Marshall & Enggas in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
and built up a practice in corporate law
Corporate law
Corporate law is the study of how shareholders, directors, employees, creditors, and other stakeholders such as consumers, the community and the environment interact with one another. Corporate law is a part of a broader companies law...
. He had close ties to the Republican party. This led to his first appointment as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri
United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri
The United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri is the federal judicial district encompassing 66 counties in the western half of the State of Missouri...
on July 8, 1954. He then was nominated to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Eastern District of Arkansas* Western District of Arkansas...
on June 5, 1956.
Supreme Court
Whittaker developed a good reputation as a judge and less than a year after being appointed to the court of appeals he was nominated Associate Justice of the Supreme Court by President Dwight Eisenhower, taking the oath on March 25, 1957. Whittaker thus became the first person to serve as a judge of a district courtUnited States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
, a court of appeals
United States court of appeals
The United States courts of appeals are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal court system...
, and then the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
. (Justice Samuel Blatchford
Samuel Blatchford
Samuel Blatchford was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from April 3, 1882 until his death.-Early life:...
also served at all three levels of the federal judiciary, but the court system was configured slightly differently at that time.)
On the closely divided Supreme Court, Whittaker was a swing vote. According to Professor Howard Ball, Whittaker was an "extremely weak, vacillating" justice who was "courted by the two cliques on the Court because his vote was generally up in the air and typically went to the group that made the last, but not necessarily the best, argument."
Whittaker failed to develop a consistent judicial philosophy, and reportedly felt himself not as qualified as some of the other members of the court. After agonizing deeply for months over his vote in Baker v. Carr
Baker v. Carr
Baker v. Carr, , was a landmark United States Supreme Court case that retreated from the Court's political question doctrine, deciding that redistricting issues present justiciable questions, thus enabling federal courts to intervene in and to decide reapportionment cases...
, an important reapportionment case, Whittaker suffered a nervous breakdown
Nervous breakdown
Mental breakdown is a non-medical term used to describe an acute, time-limited phase of a specific disorder that presents primarily with features of depression or anxiety.-Definition:...
in the spring of 1962. At the behest of Chief Justice Earl Warren
Earl Warren
Earl Warren was the 14th Chief Justice of the United States.He is known for the sweeping decisions of the Warren Court, which ended school segregation and transformed many areas of American law, especially regarding the rights of the accused, ending public-school-sponsored prayer, and requiring...
, Whittaker retired from the Court effective March 31, 1962, citing exhaustion from the workload. Thereafter, Whittaker asked Warren to designate him to serve on temporary assignments as a judge of lower federal courts from time to time, but Warren consistently declined.
Final years
Effective September 30, 1965, Whittaker resigned his position as a retired Justice in order to become chief counsel to General Motors. He also became a resolute critic of the Warren Court as well as the Civil Rights MovementCivil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
, decrying the civil disobedience
Civil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil resistance...
of the type practiced by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
and his followers as lawless. Like many conservatives, he criticized the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed major forms of discrimination against African Americans and women, including racial segregation...
as unconstitutional.
Whittaker died in 1973 at St. Luke's Hospital
Saint Luke's Hospital (Kansas City, Missouri)
Saint Luke's Hospital is an tertiary care hospital located in Kansas City, Missouri. It is part of the Saint Luke's Health System.-Hospital Background:...
in Kansas City of a ruptured abdominal aneurysm
Aneurysm
An aneurysm or aneurism is a localized, blood-filled balloon-like bulge in the wall of a blood vessel. Aneurysms can commonly occur in arteries at the base of the brain and an aortic aneurysm occurs in the main artery carrying blood from the left ventricle of the heart...
. He was survived by his wife, Winifred, and three sons, Charles Keith, Kent C. and Gary T.
The federal courthouse in downtown Kansas City
Downtown Kansas City
Downtown Kansas City is the central business district of Kansas City, Missouri and the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. It is located between the Missouri River in the north, to 31st Street in the south; and from the Kansas–Missouri state line east to Troost Avenue as defined by officials of the...
, Missouri, which houses the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri
United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri
The United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri is the federal judicial district encompassing 66 counties in the western half of the State of Missouri...
, is named in memory of Whittaker.
See also
- List of Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States
- List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States
- List of United States Chief Justices by time in office
- List of U.S. Supreme Court Justices by time in office
- United States Supreme Court cases during the Warren Court
Further reading
- Abraham, Henry J., Justices and Presidents: A Political History of Appointments to the Supreme Court. 3d. ed. (New York: Oxford University PressOxford University PressOxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
, 1992). ISBN 0-19-506557-3. - Cushman, Clare, The Supreme Court Justices: Illustrated Biographies,1789–1995 (2nd ed.) (Supreme Court Historical Society), (Congressional QuarterlyCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
Books, 2001) ISBN 1-56802-126-7; ISBN 978-1-56802-126-3. - Frank, John P., The Justices of the United States Supreme Court: Their Lives and Major Opinions (Leon Friedman and Fred L. Israel, editors) (Chelsea House Publishers: 1995) ISBN 0-7910-1377-4, ISBN 978-0-7910-1377-9.
- Martin, Fenton S. and Goehlert, Robert U., The U.S. Supreme Court: A Bibliography, (Congressional Quarterly Books, 1990). ISBN 0-87187-554-3.
- Urofsky, Melvin I., The Supreme Court Justices: A Biographical Dictionary (New York: Garland Publishing 1994). 590 pp. ISBN 0-8153-1176-1; ISBN 978-0-8153-1176-8.
External links
- http://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/Research/Finding_Aids/M.html Papers of Richard Lawrence Miller (materials collected while working on a biography of Supreme Court Justice Charles E. Whittaker), Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library