The Supreme Court Justice from Knoxville: The Politics of the Appointment of Justice Edward Terry Sanford

The articles written on Justice Edward Terry Sanford are limited in scope and contain several inaccuracies. While his early life has been covered, there has not been a great deal of attention paid to the politics of his appointment to the Supreme Court.

It has been the purpose of this study to present an analysis of the circumstances surrounding the appointment of Edward Terry Sanford to the United States Supreme Court with an examination of the role played by Sanford's former law partner, James A. Fowler, in influencing the individuals charged with making the appointment.

According to criteria spelled out by Blaustein and Mersky, Sanford was typical of the justices who have been appointed to the Supreme Court. The majority of the justices who have gained admittance to this exalted position fit a particular mold. They have, for the most part, come from families of above average financial means, who have been involved in politics or public service and whose economic circumstances have provided cultural and educational advantages available to middle and upper class individuals.

Most of the members of the Court have come from religions with "high" social status--Presbyterian, Episcopal, Congregational, and Unitarian. While the Constitution does not prescribe any particular educational criteria a nominee must meet to gain appointment to the Court, all appointees have by custom been lawyers. Almost seventy-five percent of the appointees were educated in better institutions--with Harvard, Yale and Columbia being those most frequently represented--or have received their legal training through reading law under first-rate lawyers and judges.

Sanford, the product of an economically advantaged environment, educated at Harvard, an Episcopalian, and extremely active in community affairs, fit the mold of the successful supreme court appointee. The point to be considered in this study is why Sanford was selected over other equally capable candidates.