Potter Stewart was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. He was was born on January 23, 1915, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Stewart’s father was an attorney and had served as Cincinnati’s mayor. Stewart also became an attorney. He graduated from Yale University in 1937 with an undergraduate degree and in 1941 with a law degree. He practiced law briefly in New York City and enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve soon after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. During World War II, Stewart served on tankers operating in the Atlantic Ocean and in the Mediterranean Sea. Following the war, Stewart returned to Cincinnati, where he practiced law and on the Cincinnati City Council.
In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Stewart to be judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Four years later, Eisenhower appointed Stewart to be the 92nd associate justice on the United States Supreme Court. In July 1981, Stewart retired from the Supreme Court and died on December 7, 1985.
“Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do.”
“Censorship reflects a society’s lack of confidence in itself. It is a hallmark of an authoritarian regime.”
“Fairness is what justice really is.”
“Swift justice demands more than just swiftness.”
“The right to defy an unconstitutional statute is basic in our scheme. Even when an ordinance requires a permit to make a speech, to deliver a sermon, to picket, to parade, or to assemble, it need not be honored when it’s invalid on its face.”