This page is about four conservative Supreme Court justices and four contemporary Washington powerbrokers. For other uses, see Four Horsemen. This page is about four conservative Supreme Court justices. ...

The "Four Horsemen" was the nickname given to four very conservative members of the United States Supreme Court in the 1930's who opposed the New Deal agenda of President Franklin Roosevelt. They were Justices James Clark McReynolds, George Sutherland, Willis Van Devanter, and Pierce Butler. They were opposed by the liberal "Three Musketeers" - Louis Brandeis, Benjamin Cardozo, and Harlan Stone, with Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes and Justice Owen J. Roberts controlling the balance. Hughes was more inclined to join the liberals, but Roberts was often swayed to the side of the Horsemen. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C., (large image) The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States... The New Deal was President Franklin D. Roosevelts legislative agenda for rescuing the United States from the Great Depression. ... Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882–April 12, 1945), 32nd President of the United States, the longest-serving holder of the office and the only man to be elected President more than twice, was one of the central figures of 20th century history. ... Justice McReynolds, c. ... George Sutherland (March 25, 1862 – July 18, 1942) was an English-born U.S. jurist and political figure. ... Willis Van Devanter (April 17, 1859 - February 8, 1941), associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, January 3, 1911 to June 2, 1937. ... Pierce Butler (March 17, 1866 – November 16, 1939) was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1923 until his death in 1939. ... This page is about three liberal Supreme Court Justices. ... Louis D. Brandeis Louis Dembitz Brandeis (November 13, 1856 - October 3, 1941) was an important American litigator, Justice, advocate of privacy, and developer of the Brandeis Brief. ... Justice Benjamin Nathan Cardozo (May 24, 1870–July 9, 1938) was a distinguished American jurist who is remembered not only for his landmark decisions on negligence but also his modesty and philosophy. ... Harlan Fiske Stone (October 11, 1872–April 22, 1946) was the dean of Columbia Law School, Attorney General of the United States, Associate Justice and later Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. ... Portrait of U.S. Secretary of State and Chief Justice of the United States Charles Evans Hughes Charles Evans Hughes (April 11, 1862 – August 27, 1948) was a Governor of New York, a United States Secretary of State and Chief Justice of the United States. ...

In the 1935 term, the Four Horsemen, together with Roberts and Hughes, voided the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 (United States v. Butler, 297 U.S. 1 (1936)); and in Carter v. Carter Coal 298 U.S. 238 (1936), the Four together with Roberts voided legislation aimed at the coal industry recovery; the same line-up voided a New York minimum wage law for women and children in Morehead v. New York, 298 U.S. 587 (1936). The Court had also struck down the National Industrial Recovery Act in Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States 295 U.S. 495 (1935) the previous May, but that decision was unanimous, with Cardozo writing separately joined by Stone, and Brandeis joining the Horsemen, Roberts, and Hughes in an opinion written by the latter. 1935 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The United States Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) (P.L. 73-10 of May 12, 1933) restricted production during the New Deal by paying farmers to reduce crop area. ... In the case United States v. ... Court citation is a standard system used in common law countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters. ... 1936 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Court citation is a standard system used in common law countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters. ... 1936 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Court citation is a standard system used in common law countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters. ... 1936 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... NRA Blue Eagle poster. ... Holding Section 3 of the National Industrial Recovery Act was an unconstitutional delegation of legislative power to the Executive, and was not a valid exercise of congressional Commerce Clause power. ... Court citation is a standard system used in common law countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters. ... 1935 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The Four Horsemen would ride to and from the Court together to coordinate positions and arguments. It was the success of the Horsemen in striking down New Deal legislation that led to Roosevelt's Court packing scheme. The "switch in time that saved nine" together with the retirement of Van Devanter in June 1937 and his replacement by Hugo Black ended the Four Horsemen's domination of the Court. The Court-packing Bill was proposal in 1937 by United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt for power to appoint an extra Supreme Court Justice for every sitting Justice over the age of 70. ... The switch in time that save nine was the name given by the press to the apparent sudden shift by Justice Owen J. Roberts from the conservative wing of the Supreme Court (represented by the Four Horsemen) to the liberal wing (represented by Three Musketeers) in the case West Coast... June is the sixth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of four with the length of 30 days. ... 1937 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Hugo LaFayette Black (February 27, 1886 – September 25, 1971) was a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (1937 - 1971). ...

Around 2003, the nickname has surfaced again with respect to four contemporary Washington powerbrokers who may be shaping recommendations to President George W. Bush with respect to the Supreme Court nomination to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. These individuals are: C. Boyden Gray, Edwin Meese III, Jay Sekulow, and Leonard Leo. [1] George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States and a former Governor of the State of Texas. ... Justice Sandra Day OConnor Sandra Day OConnor (born March 26, 1930) has been an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States since 1981. ... C. Boyden Gray is a partner in Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering. ... Edwin Meese III (born December 2, 1931) served as the seventy-fifth Attorney General of the United States (1985 - 1988). ... Jay Alan Sekulow is Chief Counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), an international public interest law firm and educational organization. ... Leonard Leo (1965 - ) is director of the Lawyers Division and executive vice president of the Federalist Society, and head of Catholic Outreach at the Republican National Committee. ...