Abe Fortas
| Abe Fortas | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States | |
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In office October 4, 1965 – May 14, 1969 |
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| Nominated by | Lyndon Johnson |
| Preceded by | Arthur Goldberg |
| Succeeded by | Harry Blackmun |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Abraham Fortas June 19, 1910 Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Died | April 5, 1982 (aged 71) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Carolyn Agger |
| Education |
Rhodes College (BA) Yale University (LLB) |
Abraham "Abe" Fortas (June 19, 1910 – April 5, 1982) was a U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice from 1965 to 1969.
A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Fortas became a law professor at Yale University, and then an advisor for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Fortas worked at the Department of the Interior under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and during that time President Harry S. Truman appointed him to delegations that helped set up the United Nations in 1945.
In 1948 Fortas represented Lyndon Johnson in the hotly contested Democratic Senatorial Second Primary electoral dispute, and he made close ties with the president-to-be. Fortas also represented Clarence Earl Gideon before the U.S. Supreme Court, in a landmark case involving the right to counsel.
As an appointee to the Supreme Court by Johnson, Fortas maintained a close working relationship with the president, and in 1968 Johnson tried to elevate Fortas to the position of Chief Justice, but that nomination faced a filibuster at least in part due to ethics problems that later caused Fortas to resign from the Court. Fortas returned to private practice, sometimes appearing before the judges with whom he had served, including his successor, Justice Blackmun.
Fortas was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of Rachael/Ray (née Berson) and Wolf/William Fortas, a cabinetmaker. He was the youngest of five children. His parents were Orthodox Jews. His father was born in England, to parents from Russia, and his mother was Russian-born. Fortas acquired a lifelong love for music from his father, who encouraged his playing the violin, and was known in Memphis as "Fiddlin' Abe Fortas". He attended public schools in Memphis, graduating from South Side High School in 1926. He next attended Southwestern at Memphis, a liberal arts college now called Rhodes College, graduating in 1930.
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