Who was the most libertarian Supreme Court Justice?

[Rael]

Who was the most libertarian Supreme Court Justice?

[fj45lvr]

good question...


Didn't one of them quote Lysander Spooner?? more recently?

[Depressed Liberator]

John Marshall.





:)

[Agorism]

I still think Jefferson was the best libertarian politician since he authored the declaration saying that government did not apply here here.

[wormyguy]

Right now it's easily Clarence Thomas. In the past, Pierce Butler was pretty good (in the sense of both voting in a libertarian manner and adhering to a libertarian mindset, the latter of which most pre-20th century justices did not).

[heavenlyboy34]

Probably John Jay (though the question has a poor premise, as the government courts are un-libertarian in nature)

[Imperial]

Right now it's easily Clarence Thomas. In the past, Pierce Butler was pretty good (in the sense of both voting in a libertarian manner and adhering to a libertarian mindset, the latter of which most pre-20th century justices did not).

He can sometimes be good, like when he voted for McDonald v City of Chicago on the grounds of overturning the Slaughterhouse cases. But then he goes batshit crazy sometimes.

[libertybrewcity]

The court is not a partisan group. There have been different ideas about the constitution, but never has there been this much left and right judicial activism.

[Rael]

I still think Jefferson was the best libertarian politician since he authored the declaration saying that government did not apply here here.

History fail, lol. Jefferson was not on the court. I think he was a great libertarian though. Except for that thing with owning slave.

[Aratus]

john marshall

[CJLauderdale4]

Probably John Jay (though the question has a poor premise, as the government courts are un-libertarian in nature)

I would agree with John Jay as the most libertarian, but just like libertarians disagreed with Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase, John Jay's precedence-setting rulings that set the stage for the US Supreme Court to be the ultimate decider in case "within" the States continues to haunt us today.

This is where the nullification argument comes in, and cases pointing all the way back to John Jay (along with the 14th Amendment) are used to defend the US Supreme Court's actions.

[Monarchist]

Somebody over at Free Republic (I know, I know) always tells me that Earl Warren is a "libertarian hero".

[denison]

History fail, lol. Jefferson was not on the court. I think he was a great libertarian though. Except for that thing with owning slave.

yeah, that thing. and the raping of his 14 yr old slave girl. besides that though.....:D

[Brett85]

Clarence Thomas is by far the most libertarian Justice currently on the court. He's the only Justice with a literal interpretation of the commerce clause.

[Microsecessionist]

Marshall and Jay definitely weren't libertarian. I'd say probably Melville Fuller, who was the Chief justice appointed by Grover Cleveland.

[Napoleon's Shadow]

History fail, lol. Jefferson was not on the court. I think he was a great libertarian though. Except for that thing with owning slave.
Actually, he imposed a huge tariff arbitrarily, and did the Louisiana Purchase unilaterally. He violated the Constitution and wasn't that great of a President by Constitutional standards, although leaps and bounds better than anyone in the last century, Calvin Coolidge is the only one who comes close.

[Pericles]

Potter Stewart had moments of greatness and a few misses.

[Napoleon's Shadow]

Lots of good things in the Lochner Era

[MaxPower]

yeah, that thing. and the raping of his 14 yr old slave girl. besides that though.....:D
She was at least 15-16 when her first child was (possibly- this is disputed) born, and she was actually not legally his slave at the time, because they were in Paris, where slavery was illegal- she was entirely capable of- and the story goes that she and her brother strongly considered- staying in France and going free for the rest of her life, but eventually chose to go back to Monticello with Jefferson. This being the case, I don't really see the "rape" line as valid.

Furthermore, it is not proven that Jefferson ever even touched Sally Hemings, though I admit the evidence (circumstantial arguments along with the DNA tests indicating that at least one of her children was fathered by a male descended from Jefferson's grandfather) is strong.

[MaxPower]

Actually, he imposed a huge tariff arbitrarily, and did the Louisiana Purchase unilaterally. He violated the Constitution and wasn't that great of a President by Constitutional standards, although leaps and bounds better than anyone in the last century, Calvin Coolidge is the only one who comes close.
Note that Jefferson actually tried to push a Constitutional amendment to facilitate the Louisiana Purchase, but was convinced by other members of his cabinet, along with threats by Napoleon to call off the deal, to go ahead with it before the window was closed, legally or not. Further note that, at the very least, Jefferson did not spin up a flim-flam rationalization whereby his actions were constitutional, but rather admitted that he had exceeded his constitutional authority, saying that it had been necessary in an extremely difficult situation and that he would accept whatever consequences followed. While it is a blot on his record, I think the fact that the Louisiana Purchase is about the worst usurpation that can be brought against Jefferson demonstrates the overall quality of his presidency relative to most of the other men who have held the office; just off the top of my head, going down the line, we can point out that Washington signed the first national bank into law, Adams signed the Alien and Sedition Acts, Madison signed the second national bank bill, etc.

Moreover, if we line this up against the positive aspects of his presidency- major reduction of the national debt, elimination of all internal taxes, repeal of the Alien and Sedition Acts, significant scaling back of the federal workforce, etc.- I think Jefferson comes out quite well in context.