Notable people · Justice · Judge
Potter Stewart
Born in Jackson, Michigan, Stewart grew up in Cincinnati, practiced law there, sat on the Cincinnati City Council, and served on the Supreme Court from 1958 to 1981, writing 'I know it when I see it' in Jacobellis v. Ohio.
At a glance
- Born
- 1915-01-23
- Died
- 1985-12-07
- Education
- Yale University, New Haven, CT, to 1937, B.A.
- Yale Law School, New Haven, CT, to 1941, LL.B.
- Known as
- Justice, Judge
Life story
Potter Stewart was born in Jackson, Michigan, in 1915, but grew up in Cincinnati, where his father, James Garfield Stewart, was mayor and later an Ohio Supreme Court justice.
He went to Hotchkiss, then Yale (class of 1937), studied at Cambridge, and earned a Yale law degree in 1941. He served in the Navy in World War II and married Mary Ann Bertles in 1943.
He practiced law in Cincinnati and served on the city council before President Eisenhower named him to the Sixth Circuit in 1954 and the Supreme Court in 1958.
On the Court until 1981 he wrote the concurrence in Jacobellis v. Ohio (1964), an Ohio obscenity case, with the line about knowing obscenity when he sees it. He died in 1985 and is buried at Arlington.
Timeline
- 1937: Graduates Yale (New Haven, CT) source
- 1941: Law degree, Yale; Navy service (to 1945) (New Haven, CT) source
- 1943: Marries Mary Ann Bertles (Williamsburg, VA) source
- 1950: Elected to Cincinnati City Council (early 1950s) (Cincinnati, OH) source
- 1954-04-27: Appointed to Sixth Circuit (Cincinnati, OH) source
- 1958-10-14: Recess appointment to Supreme Court (Washington, D.C.) source
- 1959-05-05: Confirmed 70-17 (Washington, D.C.) source
- 1964: Concurrence in Jacobellis v. Ohio (Washington, D.C.) source
- 1981-07-03: Retires (Washington, D.C.) source
- 1985-12-07: Dies (Hanover, NH) source
What Potter is known for
- Cincinnati City Council early 1950s
- Associate Justice 1958-1981
- Jacobellis v. Ohio (1964) concurrence
Honors and things named for them
- Papers held at Yale University Library
Family
- father: James Garfield Stewart
- wife: Mary Ann Bertles
Ohio places
Where Potter Stewart was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.
- Lived: Cincinnati, Hamilton County ZIP 45208 · Cincinnati · Hamilton County
Further reading
Sources
Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.
- Wikipedia: Potter Stewart birth in Michigan, Cincinnati career, Arlington burial, court service (Wikipedia, opened; pointer-level source)