My Rankings Of The Justices (A Huge Undertaking)

[Dr. Cynic]

Here they are in Alphabetical order. I will use a Great, Above Average, Average, Mediocre, Failure system. I did try to rank outside of ideology, but acknowledge that it played an important role. I know there will be those that disagree with me, but I have spent alot of time and effort researching and trying to form a full and fair opinion.


Samuel Alito - Mediocre

Henry Baldwin - Mediocre     

Philip Barbour - Mediocre           

Hugo Black - Great   

Harry Blackmun - Above Average       

John Blair - Average   

Samuel Blatchford - Mediocre     

Joseph P. Bradley - Average           

Louis Brandeis - Great         

William J. Brennan - Great         

David Brewer - Mediocre

Stephen Breyer - Average

Henry Brown - Mediocre 

Warren Burger - Mediocre

Harold Burton - Average 

Pierce Butler - Mediocre

James Byrnes - Failure 

John Campbell - Failure 

Benjamin Cardozo - Above Average           

John Catron - Mediocre     

Salmon Chase - Above Average 

Samuel Chase - Average   

Tom Clark - Average 

John Clarke - Average     

Nathan Clifford - Average

Benjamin Curtis - Above Average           

William Cushing - Mediocre           

Peter Daniel - Failure     

David Davis - Mediocre     

William R. Day - Average     

William O. Douglas - Great

Gabriel Duvall - Average 

Oliver Ellsworth - Mediocre         

Stephen Field - Above Average   

Abe Fortas - Mediocre       

Felix Frankfurter - Great   

Melville Fuller - Average   

Ruth Bader Ginsburg - Above Average

Arthur Goldberg - Mediocre         

Horace Gray - Above Average   

Robert Grier - Mediocre   

John M. Harlan I - Great

John M. Harlan II - Above Average

Oliver Wendell Holmes - Great

Charles Evans Hughes - Above Average

Ward Hunt - Failure 

James Iredell - Mediocre 

Howell Jackson - Average       

Robert H. Jackson - Great         

John Jay - Great           

Thomas Johnson - Failure           

William Johnson - Above Average           

Anthony Kennedy - Average         

Joseph Lamar - Mediocre

Lucius Lamar - Mediocre 

Brockholst Livingston - Mediocre     

Horace H. Lurton - Average

John Marshall - Great

Thurgood Marshall - Above Average         

Stanley Matthews - Above Average     

Joseph McKenna - Average   

John McKinley - Failure

John McLean - Above Average   

James McReynolds - Failure

Samuel Miller - Above Average

Sherman Minton - Average

William Moody - Mediocre

Alfred Moore - Failure 

Frank Murphy - Average 

Samuel Nelson - Average

Sandra Day O'Connor - Above Average

William Paterson - Mediocre           

Rufus Peckham - Average

Mahlon Pitney - Average

Lewis Powell - Average   

Stanley Reed - Average 

William Rehnquist - Average

John Roberts - Mediocre       

Owen Roberts - Average

John Rutledge - Failure   

Wiley Rutledge - Average

Edward Sanford - Mediocre         

Antonin Scalia - Above Average   

George Shiras - Mediocre (As much as it pains me to say of my fellow Pittburgher) 

David Souter - Average 

John Paul Stevens - Above Average

Potter Stewart - Average 

Harlan Fiske Stone - Above Average

Joseph Story - Great   

William Strong - Average 

George Sutherland - Average     

Noah Swayne - Above Average   

Roger Brooke Taney - Above Average

William Howard Taft - Average

Clarence Thomas - Failure           

Smith Thompson - Above Average       

Thomas Todd - Failure 

Robert Trimble - Failure

Willis Van Devanter - Mediocre

Fred Vinson - Average     

Morrison Waite - Mediocre           

Earl Warren - Great     

Bushrod Washington - Average

James Wayne - Mediocre

Byron White - Average

Edward D. White - Average 

Charles Whittaker - Failure         

James Wilson - Above Average

Levi Woodbury - Mediocre           

William Woods - Mediocre

[Dr. Cynic]

I would also venture to say that the WORST justices were undoubtedly Alfred Moore and Ward Hunt.

Picking the GREATEST justice would be impossible for me to do nonpartisanly, but I would probably go with William J. Brennan with William O. Douglas second.

[Senator Ben]

Interesting.  I'd dispute you off the bat on Powell and T. Marshall.  Powell was an above average Justice, while Marshall just followed whatever Brennan did.  I agree, btw, on Brennan being the greatest Justice of all time; although perhaps he should be tied with J. Marshall.

[Frodo]

Roger Brooke Taney - Above Average

Would you mind explaining this? 

[Platypus]

TWO females.

[??????????]

Roger Brooke Taney - Above Average

Would you mind explaining this? 

Taney was a great justice as well as a undeclared secessionist. No further explanation is needed.

[Dr. Cynic]

Roger Brooke Taney - Above Average

Would you mind explaining this? 

I did the same with Antonin Scalia... Doesn't mean I agree with them, it just means I feel that Taney had a large impact on the court, and was an influential descison maker.

[Dr. Cynic]

Interesting.  I'd dispute you off the bat on Powell and T. Marshall.  Powell was an above average Justice, while Marshall just followed whatever Brennan did.  I agree, btw, on Brennan being the greatest Justice of all time; although perhaps he should be tied with J. Marshall.

Marshall and Brennan were ideologically similar, and they would alternate writing opinions. Both were influential for different reasons, however. Marshall by his breaking of the color barrier, as well as his work habits, and Brennan because of his legal acumen and the fact that he probably had more impact and influence on liberal jurists than any other justice, including Douglas.

[Senator Ben]

Interesting.  I'd dispute you off the bat on Powell and T. Marshall.  Powell was an above average Justice, while Marshall just followed whatever Brennan did.  I agree, btw, on Brennan being the greatest Justice of all time; although perhaps he should be tied with J. Marshall.

Marshall and Brennan were ideologically similar, and they would alternate writing opinions. Both were influential for different reasons, however. Marshall by his breaking of the color barrier, as well as his work habits, and Brennan because of his legal acumen and the fact that he probably had more impact and influence on liberal jurists than any other justice, including Douglas.

What about Powell?

[Dr. Cynic]

Interesting.  I'd dispute you off the bat on Powell and T. Marshall.  Powell was an above average Justice, while Marshall just followed whatever Brennan did.  I agree, btw, on Brennan being the greatest Justice of all time; although perhaps he should be tied with J. Marshall.

Marshall and Brennan were ideologically similar, and they would alternate writing opinions. Both were influential for different reasons, however. Marshall by his breaking of the color barrier, as well as his work habits, and Brennan because of his legal acumen and the fact that he probably had more impact and influence on liberal jurists than any other justice, including Douglas.

What about Powell?

I always thought Powell was an average writer, and a bit of a workhorse, but I never have heard much of his influence on most of my law student friends. The reason I ranked Taney as Above Average was his influence on constitutional law. Alot of his court's decisions sparked heavy debate and new court cases. He was also a pretty good writer, no matter how nasty some of the descisions may have been.

There's just no pleasing some people... If you rank Powell higher, I suggest you do your own rankings, dude.