Robert H. Jackson
| Robert H. Jackson | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States | |
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In office July 11, 1941 – October 9, 1954 |
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| Nominated by | Franklin Roosevelt |
| Preceded by | Harlan Stone |
| Succeeded by | John Harlan |
| 57th United States Attorney General | |
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In office January 18, 1940 – August 25, 1941 |
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| President | Franklin Roosevelt |
| Preceded by | Frank Murphy |
| Succeeded by | Francis Biddle |
| 24th United States Solicitor General | |
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In office March 1938 – January 18, 1940 |
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| President | Franklin Roosevelt |
| Preceded by | Stanley Reed |
| Succeeded by | Francis Biddle |
| United States Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division | |
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In office 1937–1938 |
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| President | Franklin Roosevelt |
| Preceded by | John Lord O'Brian |
| Succeeded by | Thurman Arnold |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Robert Houghwout Jackson February 13, 1892 Spring Creek, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | October 9, 1954 (aged 62) Washington, D.C. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Albany Law School |
Robert Houghwout Jackson (February 13, 1892 – October 9, 1954) was an American attorney and judge who served as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. He had previously served as United States Solicitor General, and United States Attorney General, and is the only person to have held all three of those offices. Jackson was also notable for his work as the chief United States prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials of Nazi war criminals following World War II.
Jackson was admitted to the bar through a combination of reading law with an established attorney and attending law school. He is the last justice without a law degree to be appointed to the Supreme Court. He is remembered for his famous advice that "any lawyer worth his salt will tell the suspect in no uncertain terms to make no statement to the police under any circumstances" and for his aphorism describing the Supreme Court, "We are not final because we are infallible, but we are infallible only because we are final." Jackson developed a reputation as one of the best writers on the Supreme Court, and one of the most committed to enforcing due process as protection from overreaching federal agencies.
Jackson was born on a family farm in Spring Creek Township, Warren County, Pennsylvania on February 13, 1892 and raised in Frewsburg, New York. The son of William Eldred Jackson and Angelina Houghwout, he graduated from Frewsburg High School in 1909 and spent the next year as a post-graduate student attending Jamestown High School, where he worked to hone his writing skills.
Jackson decided on a legal career; since attendance at college or law school wasn't a requirement if a student learned under the tutelage of an established attorney, at age 18 he began to study law with the Jamestown, New York firm in which his uncle, Frank Mott was a partner. His uncle soon introduced him to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was then serving as a member of the New York State Senate. Jackson attended Albany Law School from 1911 to 1912. At the time, students at Albany Law had three options: taking individual courses without receiving a degree; completing a two-year program and receiving an LL.B. degree; or demonstrating the knowledge required of a first year student and then taking the second year of the two-year program, which produced a certificate of completion. Jackson chose the third option; he successfully completed the second year courses, and received his certificate in 1912.
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