SUPREME COURT JUSTICE THOMAS JOHNSON

Previously, Balladeer’s Blog examined the first six Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court when six was the full roster on that court. Here is a look at the 7th Justice, appointed by George Washington to fill the vacancy of Associate Justice John Rutledge, who resigned.

ASSOCIATE JUSTICE THOMAS JOHNSON

Served: September 19th, 1791 – January 16th, 1793. (Resigned over poor health.)

Brethren on the Court: Chief Justice John Jay. Associate Justices William Cushing, James Wilson, John Blair and James Iredell.

Some Highlights: Johnson served the least amount of time out of all Supreme Court Justices ever. He wrote the Court’s decision in Georgia v Brailsford (1792) which established that the Supreme Court had jurisdiction over suits and cases involving states. Riding his Circuit, Johnson heard the initial trial in Ware v Hylton, which dragged on for years and wasn’t settled until long after Thomas had left the Court.

Comment: Before his time on the Supreme Court, Thomas Johnson served in the Continental Congress in 1774 and 1775. He then became a general of the Maryland Militia from January 1776 to February 1777, at which point he became the first governor of Maryland.

Johnson and his brothers manufactured ammunition for the Continental Army through their business Catoctin Furnace, which is now part of a Maryland State Park. In the winter of 1777 into 1778 Thomas Johnson helped get supplies to the rebel troops at Valley Forge.