A brief biography of Supreme Court Justice Louis Dembitz Brandeis

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Posted: 11/14/06

One of the most prominent Justices in the history of the Supreme Court, Louis Dembitz Brandeis was born on November 13, 1856 in Louisville, Ky. to Czech immigrants.

He was educated in Louisville and Dresden in Germany before graduating as valedictorian from Harvard Law School in 1877.

After graduating, Brandeis began practicing law in St. Louis, but returned within a year to Boston and opened a law firm there.

In Muller v. Oregon (1908), Brandeis persuaded the U.S. Supreme Court that minimum-hours legislation for women was reasonable-and not unconstitutional-with a brief primarily consisting of statistical, sociological, economic and physiological information. This "Brandeis Brief," as it came to be called, revolutionized the practice of law and became a cornerstone of the American legal system.

In 1916, Brandeis was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Woodrow Wilson. Brandeis was the first Jew to be nominated to the Court, and his nomination was controversial, facing criticism from, among others, former president William Taft.

Brandeis remained on the Court for nearly 23 years, retiring in early 1939. His constitutional outlook was progressive, anti-monopolist and anti-big business, in favor of forward-thinking government and of state experimentation.

Brandeis became increasingly interested in Judaism and, although never a religious man, he became one of the most prominent Zionists in America. He was an active member of the Federation of American Zionists.

He died in Washington, D.C. in 1941.

-Tejas Kumar