The Emerald Bench: The History of the Irish American Justices on the Supreme Court

Twenty-five Irish Americans who have served as Supreme Court justices and shaped the highest court in the land.

From the Supreme Court’s first session in 1790 to today, Irish Americans have maintained a near-constant presence on the Supreme Court bench, shaping the law and the course of American history. This engaging book examines the lives and careers of all twenty-five Irish American justices, with an emphasis on their family history from Ireland to the United States. As a whole, this collection of family histories paints a picture of the diverse experiences of Irish immigrants and their descendants throughout American history.

Complemented by archival images published for the first time, and set against the backdrop of major historical periods, the chapters trace how each justice’s unique family history impacted their rise to the highest court and shaped their judicial philosophies, which represent the full ideological spectrum of the Supreme Court.

Timely and insightful, this book is a must for anyone interested in American and legal history or Irish American heritage.

Sean Meehan is an Irish American writer based in Washington, DC. The Supreme Court Historical Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and collecting the history of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Irish American Judicial Institute is a nonprofit organization that seeks to highlight the impact of Irish Americans on the U.S. judicial system.