Louis Brandeis Supreme Court nomination

This article is part of a series about Woodrow Wilson
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Louis Brandeis was nominated to serve as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson on January 28, 1916, after the death in office of Joseph Rucker Lamar created a vacancy on the Supreme Court. Per the Constitution of the United States, Brandeis' nomination was subject to the advice and consent of the United States Senate, which holds the determinant power to confirm or reject nominations to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Brandeis' nomination attracted significant opposition and controversy. This partially arose from his reputation and record as a lawyer of being regarded a "people's lawyer" hostile towards corporate interests. Brandeis had a record of opposing monopolies, criticizing investment banks, and advocating for workers' rights. Concerns were raised about the "radicalism" of Brandeis. Opposition also arose from antisemitism due to Brandeis being the first Jewish nominee to the Supreme Court of the United States. The nomination was opposed by corporate leaders, such as J. P. Morgan Jr. William Howard Taft (a former U.S. president and former American Bar Association president) organized opposition to the nomination among American Bar Association leaders. Taft and six other former presidents of the American Bar Association sent a letter to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary opposing the nomination. The nomination also came into strong opposition from members of the Boston Brahmin, an upper class group of the city of Boston that was associated with Harvard University. Among the most prominent in opposing the nomination were A. Lawrence Lowell (the president of Harvard University) and Henry Lee Higginson (a prominent patron of Harvard University). Despite this, all but one member of the faculty of the Harvard Law School endorsed the nomination. Felix Frankfurter, among the Harvard Law School faculty member, was a particularly proactive supporter of the nomination. The nomination received liberal and progressive support. In addition, many prominent members of the American Jewish community supported the nomination.

Brandeis' nomination was subject to near-unprecedented confirmation hearings conducted by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. The 125-day gap between his nomination and the full-Senate vote on confirming him to the court is by far the longest such gap for any U.S. Supreme Court nomination that was brought to a confirmation vote. The nomination ultimately received positive reports from both a subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee and from the full Judiciary Committee. Brandeis was confirmed to the court on June 1, 1916, in a 47–22 vote.