Harold H. Burton

Details

Birth

June 22, 1888 · Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts

Death

October 28, 1964

Law school

harvard university

Prior experience

Various legal and public service prior to appointment

Biography

Harold Hitz Burton (1888–1964) was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1945 to 1958. Born in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, Burton graduated from Bowdoin College in 1909 and Harvard Law School in 1912. After serving as a captain in World War I, he established a law practice in Cleveland, Ohio, where he became active in Republican politics. Burton served as mayor of Cleveland from 1935 to 1940, implementing progressive municipal reforms, before winning election to the United States Senate in 1940, where he served until his Supreme Court appointment. President Harry S. Truman nominated Burton to the Supreme Court in September 1945, making him the first Republican appointed by a Democratic president since 1895. The Senate confirmed him unanimously. On the Court, Burton generally adopted a moderate conservative judicial philosophy, often serving as a swing vote between the Court's liberal and conservative wings. He supported civil rights in several key decisions, including joining the unanimous opinion in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) that declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional. Burton also wrote the majority opinion in Henderson v. United States (1950), which prohibited racial discrimination in railroad dining cars. Burton's tenure was marked by careful attention to procedural matters and statutory interpretation rather than sweeping constitutional pronouncements. He authored few landmark opinions but was known for his thorough research and collegial relationships with fellow justices. His most significant constitutional opinion came in Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee v. McGrath (1951), where he argued that due process required hearings before organizations could be listed as subversive. Burton retired from the Court in 1958 due to Parkinson's disease and died in 1964, remembered as a conscientious jurist who helped navigate the Court through the early civil rights era.

Notable opinions

• Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer
• Lincoln Federal Labor Union v. Northwestern Iron & Metal Co.