John Blair

Details

Birth

— · Williamsburg, Virginia

Death

August 31, 1800

Law school

middle temple (england)

Prior experience

State highest court justice

Biography

John Blair Jr. (1732–1800) was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1789 to 1796 and one of the original six justices appointed by President George Washington. Born into a prominent Virginia planter family, Blair received his early education at the College of William & Mary before studying law at the Middle Temple in London. He returned to Virginia to practice law and quickly became involved in colonial politics, serving in the Virginia House of Burgesses and later as a judge on Virginia's General Court. Blair was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1787, where he generally supported the Virginia Plan and the creation of a strong federal judiciary. Blair's appointment to the Supreme Court reflected Washington's desire to include representatives from different regions and his confidence in Blair's legal acumen and moderate Federalist views. During his tenure, Blair consistently supported federal authority over state governments and advocated for a broad interpretation of federal judicial power. His most notable opinion came in *Chisholm v. Georgia* (1793), where he joined the majority in ruling that states could be sued by citizens of other states in federal court, a decision that prompted the Eleventh Amendment. Blair also participated in important early cases establishing judicial review and federal supremacy. He resigned from the Court in 1796 due to declining health and the arduous circuit-riding duties required of justices. Though his tenure was relatively brief and he authored few major opinions, Blair helped establish crucial precedents during the Court's formative years and contributed to defining the relationship between federal and state authority in the early republic.

Notable opinions

• Chisholm v. Georgia
• Calder v. Bull