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| Harry A.Blackmun was an Associate Justice of the ] from ] to ]. He is particularly well-known as the author of the majority opinion in the 1973 ] lawsuit legalizing ] in the ]. | |||
| Although nominated by President Nixon, Harry Blackmun was considered a liberal Supreme Court Justice. | |||
| Harry Blackmun was born in Nashville, ], on the 12th of November, ]. He graduated from Harvard Law School in ] and served in a variety of positions as private counsel, law clerk, and adjunct faculty at the University of Minnesota and the St. Paul College of Law. President ] appointed Blackmun to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in ]. In ] he was nominated for the Supreme Court by ] and confirmed by the ] in the same year. | |||
| He legislated the right of abortion by interpreting the constitution from a liberally biased standpoint in the case Roe v. Wade. For legalization thereof, Blackmun had to define life in facilitating terms to concur with the fourteenth amendment's due process clause. The fourteenth amendment was ratified in 1868 as a statement against slavery and involuntary servitude. Coincidently, most States legislated limitations on abortion prior to ratification of this amendment. Blackmun invoked this amendment over 100 years later implying that the ratifiers provided the due process clause to provide license to the legalization of abortion. | |||
| At the time of nomination, he was generally expected to act as a conservative and narrow interpreter of the ]. However, over time he turned into an independent-minded justice who supported both conservative and liberal positions, with an increasing weight on individual rights. In ] he penned the majority opinion in important lawsuit ] that struck down as unconstitutional state laws against abortion and to this day is basis for legal abortion in the United States. This made him highly unpopular and a target for sometimes extreme criticism among many American conservatives, despite the fact that he was a livelong ]. | |||
| According to the tenth amendment of the Constitution, any powers not enumerated within are reserved for the States. Enumerated rights include speech, press, religion, and arms ownership. Abortion is not a listed right in the Constitution, nor is it inferred. The right to regulate, limit, or prohibit abortion is a power that was intended to be determined by individual States and was so prior to the Roe decision. | |||
| Harry Blackmun retired from the Supreme court in ] and died March 4th, ], from complications of surgery. | |||
| Although the Supreme Court's purpose is to interpret the Constitution and adjudicate accordingly, Blackmun purported that the legislation of the abortion right was a major step towards women's equality in the United States subsequent to the Roe v. Wade decision. By touting the political implications his decision had on society, Blackmun admittedly jeopardized his judicial objectivity to further leftist political ideology. | |||
Revision as of 21:31, 1 November 2003
Harry A.Blackmun was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1970 to 1994. He is particularly well-known as the author of the majority opinion in the 1973 Roe v. Wade lawsuit legalizing abortion in the United States.
Harry Blackmun was born in Nashville, Illinois, on the 12th of November, 1908. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1932 and served in a variety of positions as private counsel, law clerk, and adjunct faculty at the University of Minnesota and the St. Paul College of Law. President Eisenhower appointed Blackmun to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in 1959. In 1971 he was nominated for the Supreme Court by Richard Nixon and confirmed by the United States Senate in the same year.
At the time of nomination, he was generally expected to act as a conservative and narrow interpreter of the constitution. However, over time he turned into an independent-minded justice who supported both conservative and liberal positions, with an increasing weight on individual rights. In 1973 he penned the majority opinion in important lawsuit Roe v. Wade that struck down as unconstitutional state laws against abortion and to this day is basis for legal abortion in the United States. This made him highly unpopular and a target for sometimes extreme criticism among many American conservatives, despite the fact that he was a livelong Republican.
Harry Blackmun retired from the Supreme court in 1994 and died March 4th, 1999, from complications of surgery.