| Show Retires From U. U S. S Supreme Court BencH B nd IkIL WV 3 ustice's S 'S Advanced Age Aget t Believed Behind Action President Gets 2nd Chance to Make Appointment WASHINGTON ASHINGTON 7 Jan 5 AP Associate Justice Georg George Sutherland notified President Roosevelt today that he would woul retire from his position on th the supreme court January 18 Ills His advanced age age ho ho will be 76 6 old in March was March years ears was given gh-en by friends as the chief reason for his quitting the bench Since heis heis he lie lieis is leaving under provisions of the supreme court retirement act he probably will ill iII continue however to do some work in the lower 1 0 W e r courts The resignation L is the second since President Roosevelt less than tha thara thana a year ago proposed to reorganize the supreme court by enlarging i il it from nine to 15 members if those thoa over 70 did not retire On last June Jun 2 Associate Justice Willis Van Devanter Devanter De- De retired at the age of 78 To succeed Van Devanter President President President dent Roosevelt appointed Senator Hugo L. L Black Alabama Democrat Demo Demo- crat Black was the center of a a brief hot controversy over his form form for for- m affiliation with the Ku Klux Klus Klan After he took his place orthe or ox the bench efforts were were made unsuccessfully unsuccessfully to unseat him Second Opportunity I Thus Sutherlands Sutherland's resignation will wil give President Roosevelt his second opportunity to name a member o othe ol of the high court Prior to Van Devanter's Devanter's Devanter's De De- leaving none had resigned during the five years of the admin admin- When Sutherland steps down only two wo members will remain on th the tribunal who are generally referred to o by administration spokesmen as ax conservative They are olds 75 and Butler 71 This situation was responsible for fox formost formost most of the quickly expressed reaction ion tion on Capitol Hill Senator Wheeler D. D Mont said Suther Suther- Sutherlands Sutherland's ands and's action was further evidence that hat it wasn't necessary to pack the thc supreme court Wheeler was a leader of the opposition opposition op op- position to Mr Roosevelt's bill for fox enlarging the tribunal The measure measure meas meas- ure ire was shelved at the regular session session ses ses- sion last summer Letter to President In his letter to the president which chich was sent to the White House this his morning the justice said My Dear Mr President Having reached the age of more han than 75 years and having held my ray commission as associate justice of he the supreme court of the United States and served in that court for or 15 years and thus being eligible eligi- eligi ble le for retirement under the Sum- Sum ners cers act of March 1 1937 entitled An n act to provide for the retirement retirement retire retire- ment rient of justices of the supreme court ourt I desire to avail myself of the he rights privileges and judicial service ervice specified in that act and ando to o 0 that end i J here hereby r retire from regular service Sf on cab tn the bench this retirement nt to be effective on an and after ter Tuesday the day of Janary January January Jan Jan- uary ary 1938 Justice Sutherland refused to tomake make nake any ny comment on his retirement retire retire- ment Friends say however thatis that his lis is action was based largely on his age ige He has no serious ailment They hey said he has reached ached r the pe- pe period iod lod when he feels that he cannot Jo do 0 his full share of court work without too much of a strain and that hat he is Ls not willing to remain remaina m on a the bench when he feels that he ic e cannot carry his full burden of ofie the Jie ie work The justice is expected to remain in n I Washington indefinitely and take make himself available for such work vork on the lower federal courts is as S may be agreeable to him Such assignments by the chief justice are authorized by the retirement act Continued on Pace PaJe Two Column Three RETIREMENT SET BY SUTHERLAND Continued from Page One and Van Devanter now Is serving on a New York federal court The jurist was the first born on foreign soil to alien parents since 1806 and the fourth in history He was born in Buckingham England March 25 1862 but was brought to this country when 15 months old His father became an American American Amerlean Amer Amer- ican lean citizen in 1869 Sutherland was appointed an as associate associate associate as- as justice in 1922 by President President President dent Harding after efter being defeated for reelection as Republican senator senator senator sen sen- ator from Utah by Senator William WilliamH H H. King a Democrat Since the inauguration of ot President President President dent Roosevelt in 1933 the justice was one of the most consistent opponents opponents opponents op op- op- op of ot administration legislation legislation legislation legisla legisla- tion on the bench He was one of ofa ofa ofa a group o of four generally described as conservative Sutherlands Sutherland's opinions sparkled with quotable material He liked to express himself In everyday language lan lan- language an- an guage instead of employing technical technical technical cal legal terms Although hi rk has kept him him himin in Washington the last 15 years Associate Justice George Sutherland Sutherland Sutherland Suther Suther- land was closely associated with Utah affairs Taken to Springville 15 months after his birth in England he grew to manhood here and played an important important important im im- im- im part in Utah being admitted to statehood in 1896 the anniversary of which Was celebrated only the day before his retirement from the supreme court His father Alexander G. G Sutherland Sutherland Sutherland Suther Suther- land a Scotchman was a lawyer by profession but it was mining ventures ventures ventures ven ven- tures in Utah that provided him with means of educating his son to I follow his profession II Fulfilled Fathers Father's Hopes The rhe son fulfilled the hopes his father held for him attaining repute repute repute re re- re- re as one of the leading lawyers of Utah He entered Brigham Young academy when he was 17 studied there two years then went to the University of Michigan and studied law for a year He continued continued continued contin contin- to read law under Judge Thomas M M. Cooley then dean of the law school and won admission to practice in the supreme court of Michigan in March 1883 a few days before his birthday That same year he married Rosamond Lee of Tennessee George Sutherland was associated with his father at et Provo for several years but in 1894 moved to Salt Lake City forming a law partnership partnership partnership partner partner- ship with Parley L. L Williams and Waldemar Van Cott Cotto He devoted most of his time to mining litigation but was active too in preparing Utah for statehood and in 1896 was elected to the first state legis legis- lature Leader In Party A leader in the Republican party in Utah in 1900 he went to Philadelphia Philadelphia Philadelphia Phila Phila- delphia as one of ot Utah's delegates to the party's national convention which nominated President William McKinley and named Theodore Roosevelt as the candidate for vice president That fall he was wes elected to congress defeating William H. H King Democrat now senator from Utah He was a delegate to national Republican conventions in 1904 and 1908 In 1904 Sutherland was elected to the United States senate by the state legislature and six years later the legislature reelected him Th amendment for direct election of senators became effective in 1913 and under it in 1916 he entered his first statewide political campaign campaign campaign cam cam- which renewed the rivalry between him and King whom he had beaten 16 years before King won President of Bar Sutherland was president of the American Bar association in 1916 and 1917 and in 1918 he delivered a lecture course at Columbia university university university sity that afterward appeared in book form Constitutional Power and World Affairs Many of ot Sutherlands Sutherland's closest friends were in the west and he did not see much of them during his 15 years on the bench being a a. comparatively comparatively comparatively com com- infrequent visitor to Utah Whenever he returned however however however how how- ever he was a e. welcome speaker before etore gatherings of lawyers |
