Top 10 Supreme Court Justices in American History

[@iammrbeat]

A special thank you to Ground News for supporting this channel! Download the Ground News app for free ▶️ check.ground.news/MrBeat to break free from your echo chamber and see the full story. So what did I get wrong? Who is YOUR favorite Supreme Court justice?

[@MatrixMachine4]

Earl Warren solely because his name is Earl

[@LolganSaucey]

Mr breast give me money

[@MatrixMachine4]

Please shut off the computer

[@scribeasriel2857]

As a law student GREAT LIST!, love your channel. May I make a recommendation? Top 10 Supreme Court Cases.

[@teteteteta2548]

Mr. beat you looked so scared doing the sponsorship, is everything okay?

[@casesoutherland4175]

Antonin Scalia even defended flag burners. He personally disagreed with the action, but he understood it was anyone's First Amendment right to do it and put his foot down!

[@duckingcensorship1037]

Exactly! "A good justice doesn't always like the decisions he comes to." Scalia. (I'm paraphrasing but that's close)

[@post-leftluddite]

He also presided over the gutting of the 4th amendment in several instances as he was a willing foot soldier of law enforcement

[@ChrisFarrell]

His defense of the 1st amendment was entirely self-serving though - he realized that it could be used not just as a shield but as a sword to cut down liberal policies like non-discrimination law or to allow conservative donors to flood elections with undisclosed dark money. Citizens United, now regarded as one of the top-10 worst decisions of all time (if not top 5), was an example of wielding the 1st amendment for purely political purposes. Meanwhile he allowed red states to force doctors to read lies to patients, while claiming that California had no right to force crisis pregnancy centers to truthfully reveal they were not doctors. He would rule in the obviously correct way in these provocative cases (flag burning is political speech and obviously protected by the 1st amendment; it would be total judicial malpractice to rule otherwise) and claim that made him principled, while being more than willing to cut down speech he disagreed with in cases that were just as obvious but not as high-profile.

[@realjackyoung]

same with weed!

[@dodleboper]

but he didn't care about their freedom to marry whoever they wanted

[@IantheKid125]

"Theres no age or citizenship requirement to be a justice" Me: So Justice Swartzenegger can happen

[@theperfectmix2]

Funnier is that Justice Queen Elizabeth Windsor is possible.

[@nope929]

The best part about governor Schwarzenegger was the "My governor can beat up your governor" stickers

[@gamenerd808]

@@theperfectmix2 she'll be justice forever then

[@mintoo2cool]

Robocop, Judge Dredd, Thanos, The Supreme Kai .. the sky is the limit

[@the4tierbridge]

Justice 1 day old baby?

[@williamhild1793]

One small correction---Byron "Whizzer' White actually played THREE seasons in the NFL. He played with Pittsburgh in 1938, and with Detroit in 1940 and 1941. As a tailback-halfback, he was named all-pro all three years. In both 1938 and 1940, led lead the league in rushing!

[@iammrbeat]

Dang holy crap, my source was wrong. :(

[@Baelor-Breakspear]

@@iammrbeat hey Mr Beat I know this video came out a few years ago but how do you feel about this current Supreme Court controversy with Thomas accepting what are basically bribes. Bribes ranging from free multi million dollar vacations, a mega donor buying his mothers house and letting her live there rent free and mega donors paying for his nephews expensive education?? Do you think the Supreme Court might enforce the rules every other federal judge has to follow?? Sorry again I know this is an old video I’d just like your opinion on it

[@fredkrissman6527]

Ha,@@Baelor-Breakspear! See his recent Worst10Supremes for his answer... It's quite interesting imo.

[@MatrixMachine4]

The most underrated branch of government is the Judicial branch

[@koukkoufos2000]

To be fair the executive branch also gained a lot of power since George Washington, I mean the legislative branch ought to be stronger in my view because it represents the people more directly, we need to reform congress so they stop giving so much power to the other branches, although a powerful executive that’s progressive is good but if it’s conservative it can do a lot of damage

[@PremierCCGuyMMXVI]

You are absolutely right

[@lamaripiazza5226]

Yes

[@JohnSmith-hd2tl]

@@PremierCCGuyMMXVI You’re*

[@PremierCCGuyMMXVI]

@@JohnSmith-hd2tl any opinion about the Supreme Court?

[@immaheadout4777]

I didn’t agree with Scalia a lot but the quality of his opinions and the way he explains things is extremely intelligent and mind blowing which is a very rare gift that he had.

[@mr.meeseekslookatme]

Scalia was a conservative hack who twisted his views like a pretzel rife with logical fallacies to serve his political agenda. He contradicted himself constantly. Scalia was a bag of pig shit.

[@arjansahota4911]

Fun Fact: 6 of Mr. Beat’s top 10 served at the same time from Thurgood Marshall’s placement on October 2, 1967 to Warren’s Retirement in June 23, 1969. So pretty much two Supreme Court sessions had 6 out of the 10 best Justices on it.

[@str.77]

More likely, these are cases of recentism.

[@macmacreynolds8712]

Actually, Abe Fortas resigned a month before Warren's retirement, so you mean from October 2, 1967 to May, 1969.

[@alonkatz4633]

And with Justices Black, Harlan and Fortas being good in their own right, this may have been the best court in history.

[@thatguydj7802]

@@str.77 Perhaps yes to the recency bias, but there is no doubt that the landmarks of the 1900's are better for the nation than the landmarks of 1800's. Many important unenumerated rights and protections on the federal level were not defined well or even established until the 1900.

[@str.77]

@@thatguydj7802 Maybe, but that's not the point. also, many of these supposed "unenumerated rights being defined" were actually making stuff up out of thin air.

[@Raykibb1]

As a thirty year plus attorney, I really enjoyed this video, Mr. Beats. Thurgood Marshall was my favorite justice due to his written decisions. Even his dissents left me feeling better when a major decision did not go the way I thought it should.

[@iammrbeat]

This means a lot coming from you. Yeah Marshall was a beast on the bench.

[@joshuaminton7583]

You wanna be a federal or even supreme judge?

[@Raykibb1]

@@joshuaminton7583: I’d take life tenure as a law clerk, if I could, lol.

[@hakimtazwell7790]

There's a beautiful newly renovated court house named after the late Thurgood Marshall on Centre St in Manhattan, NY.

[@hakimtazwell7790]

@@night6724 Mmm, l didn't get that; would you have asked me the same question, if l had /have been supportive of Tainy?

[@lawrencekumar293]

Thanks Mr. Beat, for all your Supreme Court briefs--they've certainly made law school more bearable. Could you possibly review one of the many Supreme Court cases dealing with environmental issues? (some that come to mind are Chevron v. NRDC (air pollution); Vermont Yankee (nuclear power); and Portland Audubon (endangered species)). I look forward to it.

[@iammrbeat]

I know nothing about those cases but will certainly look them up, and thank you for suggesting them!

[@lawrencekumar293]

@@iammrbeat Earth Day is coming up--maybe an Earth Day tie-in? wink wink.

[@ZekeorSomething]

It's always nice to see Mr.Beat upload

[@legendaryweegee5331]

How’s the drive I in Dallas, Mr. Kennedy

[@georgew.bush4372]

JFK/GORE in the fdr election

[@iammrbeat]

Always nice to see a JFK comment. :D

[@ZekeorSomething]

@@iammrbeat indeed

[@TheAndrewSchneider]

Would definitely love a Worst Supreme Court Justices video. If only to explicate that there are several different kinds of "worst," and I certainly do not refer to the sausages.

[@ryanfriedman4329]

I like beer!!! 🤬🍺

[@MichiganGirl42]

I feel like a lot of ppl would go in the comments wondering why ACB isn’t there (assuming she isn’t)

[@Tonald_Drumpft]

In a worst list, Hugo Black can’t be missing.

[@iammrbeat]

Looks like I must attempt this now. :)

[@matthewbadley5063]

Roger Taney would likely make the list, after authoring one of the worst decisions in US history (Dred Scott) that infringed on the rights of northern free states and directly contributed to the political divisiveness that caused the civil war.

[@randy7928]

Sorry, you can't mention Scalia without mentioning his polar opposite, and good friend/colleague RBG. The two of them combined to form each other's legacy in my opinion.

[@salildeshpande7]

If she's his polar opposite and he's in the top 10, it automatically means she's at the bottom

[@paisleepunk]

@@salildeshpande7well that didn't happen

[@salildeshpande7]

@@paisleepunk did too

[@mattdacey4032]

RGB's opinions were weak and she was highly partisan. Plus, her ego didn't let her step down when it was necessary.

[@wigglyziggly]

Fun fact about Louis Brandeis, one of the honorable mentions. He was actually Robert La Follette's first choice as his running mate for the 1924 presidential election! La Follette and Brandeis were very close, with them collaborating on the defense of Gifford Pinchot in 1910 among other progressive crusades. Unfortunately, Brandeis declined, feeling that staying on the Supreme Court would give him the best opportunity to make an impact. La Follette was also one of the only Republicans to vote for Brandeis's Supreme Court confirmation!

[@iammrbeat]

Thanks for sharing all that!

[@pillsburydoughboy1693]

Wow! I never knew that!

[@Ben-tb5di]

The mad lad finally did it! It's only a matter of time before the tier list is uploaded!

[@iammrbeat]

I might have to learn quite a bit more before I do that!

[@patriotadam4091]

@@iammrbeat Hi Mr Beat I know you probably will not see this comment, but Sonya Sotomayor is a third cousin of mine

[@josephpolizzi_5759]

“Why’d you stop watching Mr.Beat?” BECAUSE WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT DIDNT EVEN MAKE HONORABLE MENTIONS!!!!!!!

[@Tonald_Drumpft]

Not like he did anything of particular significance during his super short tenure (nine years) in the SCOTUS.

[@iammrbeat]

I thought you were going to say "BECAUSE ANTONIN SCALIA MADE HIS TOP 10!!!!!!!!!" but apparently Taft is now a meme.

[@iammrbeat]

@@Tonald_Drumpft Taft appears to be the meme flavor of the week

[@josephpolizzi_5759]

@@iammrbeat Hey, as a wise Middle aged history teacher once said “that’s Taft baby”

[@matthewcorbin]

@@josephpolizzi_5759 I know that you're just fooling around, but I kind of view Taft as one of the worst justices for his part in Buck v. Bell, the case that also made Pierce Butler one of my favorite justices.

[@petitthom2886]

I really like Scalia’s opinion in the “Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association” case, it was very well argued.

[@iammrbeat]

Dang right it was.

[@12345676571]

Scalia is in my personal top 5 justices but I actually disagreed with him (and the majority) on that one.

[@jamestepera3356]

Scalia was a stud

[@Tinfoil_Hardhat]

@@12345676571 The consumption of media as someone chooses is apart of their first amendment right. Restricting it based on arbitrary decisions of violence is a violation of that even if it's a kid. If you start restricting video games then why not movies? Books? All media? Just lock the kid in their room and never let them grow up at that point.

[@12345676571]

@@Tinfoil_Hardhat It is accepted that minors first amendment rights (and really anyone’s) are not unlimited and are subject to parental approval for the simple fact that parents are the ones responsable for the upbringing of their children. Parents should have discretion on what to expose their children (right or wrong). Certain movies (pornography for example) are restricted to minors because it is generally accepted that such content is too premature for children. Depiction of violence is also with its risks and I do believe parental approval is not outside the bound of first amendment jurisprudence in regards to minors. I am not saying all video games (or movies) should be restricted or subject to parental approval but those whose subject matter are more mature should and i do believe what was at issue in this case fell in that category

[@David-qr5sq]

As a current APUSH student, Warren and Marshall are some of my favorite people in US History

[@Spongebrain97]

Yeah I was in APUSH when I really learned about Warren. My teacher hyped him up when he talked about the civil rights movement and how crucial the supreme court was. I remember he finished off the lesson by explaining that Earl Warren was an established politician, was a west coast liberal, and was suited for the time period and somebody in class said aloud "oh thank god" lmao. But as Mr Beats said Warren was a better justice than he was California governor. I think its because he supported the internment of Japanese Americans but it seems like he regretted that later in life

[@David-qr5sq]

@@Spongebrain97 Yeah everyone has their flaws, even people like Washington. I’m really bummed out that this year was a pandemic year because of the environment that we’ve missed out on. I haven’t many experiences with my class like the one you described

[@Spongebrain97]

@@David-qr5sq it probably depends on the teacher. Mine used comedy and physical demonstrations to make points. But that was in like 2014. Im at university now and usually the conversations take place between students who are genuinely interested

[@SlimeytubeDude]

My teacher doesn't really dive in to as many details of these types of things, you have a great teacher.....lucky.

[@iammrbeat]

As a current APUSH teacher, I agree with you.

[@Elaze100]

I am glad you listed William Douglas. I always liked to read what he said about cases and the issues. He was passionate and he could express himself better than most people. Just think how awful he felt when Gerald Ford was the president to nominate his replacement. Ford for years tried to impeach Douglas.

[@rainb5987]

He has been the most liberal justice of all time followed by Marshall.

[@post-leftluddite]

​@@rainb5987I would argue he was more left than "liberal", definitely a "progressive" and maybe even further left than that in some cases, but that's exactly why he was such a defender of freedom. As far as I'm aware he is one of the only judges to ever oppose absolute judicial immunity and qualified immunity

[@rainb5987]

@@post-leftluddite Imagine William Douglas and Clarence Thomas are sitting justices at the same time.

[@Stormtrooper371]

Glad to see Mr. Beat put both liberals and conservatives on this list.

[@iammrbeat]

A few moderates, too :)

[@ritaloy8338]

Yes you should make a Bottom List of the Supreme Court Justices.

[@iammrbeat]

Based on the feedback so far, I think I will.

[@ritaloy8338]

@@iammrbeat Thank you very much.

[@AfrikanAfro]

He already did. Don't you see he put scalia in his top ten?

[@Tinfoil_Hardhat]

@@AfrikanAfro Yeah you wouldn't want someone to interpret the constitution based on what it actually means. Even though there is no other valid way to interpret the constitution.

[@the4tierbridge]

@@AfrikanAfro No, this is the top ten best though. He stated his reasons for why.

[@TheAndrewSchneider]

Lil' John. Not to be confused with Lil' King John I of France... lol. Great and highly informative video!

[@iammrbeat]

😅

[@ViswaretasKotra]

Mr beat would have made a better president than my son

[@Jack-rd7li]

you and your son!

[@BayDuranov]

#MrBeatforPresident

[@georgew.bush4372]

Why dad

[@BigJunnySoprano69]

@@georgew.bush4372 you started the Iraq war and you smelly

[@tysmith9309]

@@BigJunnySoprano69 he did start pepfar. So he did do some excellent stuff

[@insertaliashere1379]

This might be the most anticipated Mr. Beat video of all time. My top 10: 10: Antonin Scalia 9: Warren Burger 8: Hugo Black 7: John Marshall Harlan 6: James Iredell 5: William Howard Taft 4: Felix Frankfurter 3: Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. 2: Joseph Story 1: John Marshall

[@iammrbeat]

Dang, your list looks pretty darn good, too. Good to see Frankfurter get some love.

[@insertaliashere1379]

@@iammrbeat I just realized that we've had two justices named Burger and Frankfurter.

[@12345676571]

I’m surprised with Burger. Do you mind elaborating on him?

[@ryanoh7212]

@@12345676571 imo he was terrible . Read the brethren and you will see why. Guy had the leadership ability of a cow. Rehnquist altho more conservative (I'm a progressive) was the best chief Justice to date

[@jetermoersdorf1011]

Hugo Black was a klansman. Typical democrat

[@jaystrickland4151]

It is undeniable that Scalia was extremely influential.

[@kicka55x2]

@@jaystrickland4151 Scalia was racist misogynistic thug 😭

[@TihetrisWeathersby]

I just knew Earl Warren was going to be on the list

[@iammrbeat]

I think Warren knew it, too. :D

[@georgewashingmachine1916]

@@iammrbeat Yep he was amazing but i'm surprised that RBG was only an honorable mention

[@TihetrisWeathersby]

@@iammrbeat Of course he did lol

[@TihetrisWeathersby]

@@night6724 Explain how

[@TihetrisWeathersby]

@@night6724 His court ended racial segregation and dismantled Jim crow. You are also over exaggerating the 14 amendment aspect. I'm not religious so I think i wouldn't appreciate being forced to prey. Also Eisenhower saying he regretted appointing him doesn't make him a bad justice, It's something you are saying out of spite.

[@TihetrisWeathersby]

There are three Marshalls on the list, Part of the Marshall dominance

[@paramjotsingh8]

“Marshal program” is just another example

[@marshallsanborn7276]

Yes

[@TihetrisWeathersby]

@@paramjotsingh8 The Marshall Empire

[@namingisdifficult408]

The Marshall Islands

[@TihetrisWeathersby]

@@namingisdifficult408 The Marshall Republic

[@oneofthe4kibs877]

YAYYYYYYYY! A New Mr. Beat Video!

[@iammrbeat]

Yay! A new comment from a cool person!

[@hakeemfullerton8645]

I would have thought that William Howard Taft, Charles Evans Hughes and Ruth Bader Ginsberg would be on this list. Never the less this was a really good video

[@iammrbeat]

All three were solid. RBG did make my honorable mention list at least. Thanks for the kind words!

[@hakeemfullerton8645]

@@iammrbeat Your Welcome

[@Tonald_Drumpft]

WHT didn’t do anything in his nine year tenure in the court. Just because he served as POTUS before being in the SCOTUS doesn’t mean he was an influential justice. I’d say the most significant case he preceded over was _Balzac vs Porto Rico_ . Other than that case, nothing that dramatically affected the lives of people in some way or another.

[@jacktaliasteinberg9681]

@@iammrbeat ideas for future top 10s. Best and worst representatives, and speakers of the house

[@matthewcorbin]

@@Tonald_Drumpft Buck v. Bell was pretty significant, though that's in a negative sense, I would say.

[@KoreanRaphaelWarnock]

우리가 조지아와 전국에서보고있는 유권자 탄압은 우리의 민주주의를 위협하며 참을 수 없습니다. 의회는 투표 용지에 대한 접근을 확대하고 보호하기위한 중요한 입법안을 통과시키기 위해 지금 조치를 취해야합니다.

[@the_random9718]

I thought you only commented on LTE lol

[@s4gr_n0s3y]

What happened to American Raphael Warnock?

[@MeesterTweester]

Thank you, Korean Raphael Warnock

[@AgmaSchwa]

Thank you Korean Raphael Warnock

[@lifeofabronovich7792]

감사합니다, 라파엘 워녹 한국인

[@Colinop]

idk why but i found "oh dang we got another william" so funny

[@iammrbeat]

lol it was so natural for me to say

[@nelsonmlazo4449]

Mr. Beat can you do a Best/Worst Mayor list or Best/Worst Senate Majority or Minority Leader list?

[@andreylucass]

Is it possible?

[@iammrbeat]

The Mayor list would be quite intimidating, but a Senate Majority Leader/Minority Leader list seems much more doable. :)

[@adamm6320]

Amazing video 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@iammrbeat]

Thank you 🤗

[@t.3465]

Wait this video was uploaded a few minutes ago but this comment is a DAY old? Lol

[@Colinop]

@@t.3465 i believe thats member benefits

[@adamm6320]

@@Colinop Yes

[@t.3465]

@@Colinop oh, whoops

[@1d1ss3nt6]

I just want to say that I’ve been waiting for this episode for a long time and I love it, thank you! Also ground news is amazing and it helps me keep an open mind, so I use it pretty often

[@mrrogersrabbit]

Another note on Scalia - his best friend on the court was Ruth Ginsburg. While I understand why you wouldn't factor this into your scoring, I think it was very good for the country to see that these two ideological figureheads not only got along but were sincere friends. It's something that I wish people could see in a world with so many damaged relationships from the past two elections. And a judicially relevant point for Scalia - he was successful in creating a more originalist and textualist judiciary on both sides of the aisle. There were far fewer "emanations and penumbras" after Scalia joined the court, including from the "court liberals." Just this week, the 9th Circuit upheld Hawaii's carry ban and both the majority and dissent wrote very originalist opinions with historical evidence going back to the 14th century.

[@iammrbeat]

YOU GET IT. This is exactly why he made my top 10. I certainly didn't agree with him on every decision, but I think he had a positive impact. The originalist and textualist perspective is important. Judicial restraint is also important.

[@robgronotte1]

Ugh, Scalia was important, but in the worst way possible. I think he'll eventually be viewed with the likes of Roger Taney, who affirmed slavery with the Dred Scott decision. He claimed to be an "originalist" but was really a religious zealot who sought to impose his own misguided morality on the rest of the nation. I cheered his death, and while I don't believe in hell, if I happen to be wrong about that, then I'm sure he is burning in it.

[@mrrogersrabbit]

@@robgronotte1 How was Scalia a religious zealot on the bench? Scalia was a Catholic and just off the top of my head I can think of two of his legal positions that were opposed to Catholic social teaching: capital punishment and abortion. Scalia rejected the legal argument that the 8th amendment prohibited capital punishment because the original understanding of "cruel and unusual punishment" did not include capital punishment. The very document that enshrined the 8th amendment also enshrined the 5th, which recognizes the legitimacy of capital crimes in its first line. Scalia's legal opinion on abortion shows indifference to Catholic social teaching on abortion too. Catholic social teaching is strictly anti-abortion from week 0, but Scalia's legal opinion was that the Constitution is silent on abortion. It neither prohibits abortion (as the Catholic Church wants) nor protects it, and thus state and local governments can regulate it by the democratic process. Religion did not factor into his opinion on this. His dissent in Casey cities only US Law and English Common Law, not Deuteronomic Law, not Sharia Law, Catholic social teaching, nor any other religious law.

[@robgronotte1]

@@mrrogersrabbit you're trying to tell me Scalia was pro-choice? Of course abortion isn't mentioned in the constitution, all you need is a search function to know that. He was very vocal about his religion, and wanted to strangle the establishment clause, believing it allows government preference of religion over atheism. Just one example was his support of public funding of religious education. He also thought "obscene" works are not protected by the first amendment, but political speech by corporations should be. He was strongly against civil rights for homosexuals, even comparing legal bans on homosexuality to legal bans on MURDER! Yes, he was pro-death penalty, just showing that his religios zealotry was even worse than that of the catholic church. Of course, I never heard of any bishops refusing him communion due to that, like they routinely do to catholic politicians who support abortion rights.

[@mrrogersrabbit]

@@robgronotte1 I don't see where I said Scalia was pro-choice. I said his legal opinion on abortion was that the Constitution is neutral on it and that is the basis of his criticism of the majority opinion in Casey (and, by extension, Roe). This is neither a "pro-life" nor "pro-choice" opinion, just an intellectually honest reading of the Constitution (as you seem to acknowledge). What is your thought process that leads you to conclude that he was a "religious fanatic" for his opinion on the constitutionality of the death penalty being the opposite of his religion's social teaching? It seems like backwards logic, but I am open to hearing your thought process on that.

[@Munchausenification]

Even as a European I do find these videos about the Supreme Court decisions and this one, quite interesting. Also, I hope Mr. Beat makes a video about two fictional cities/towns for April Fools :)

[@iammrbeat]

Well thank you, and great idea for April Fools 😄

[@shannonbeat]

Good idea lol

[@hellopeople5458]

Could you do a video on the lawsuits during the 2020 election?

[@lololololololololololol3465]

Yea that'll be nice

[@coolcool9772]

👍

[@HelloWorld-gl9bd]

Ok

[@commandervgamer5722]

That'll be funny

[@supman7679]

agree

[@alexanderg1297]

I’m sure putting Scalia on the list won’t be controversial at all. 😂 Great video Mr. Beat

[@iammrbeat]

Yeah I made some folks ANGRY. 🙁

[@thecatatemyhomework]

@@iammrbeat no, you made some liberal nut cases angry.

[@burningphoenix6679]

@@iammrbeat rightfully so. Scalia was terrible

[@burningphoenix6679]

@@thecatatemyhomework Scalia literally voted against legal gay marriage. If you think Scalia was good, you support that vote

[@tonyks4777]

@@burningphoenix6679 who cares if you like him or not.. He was principled, logical and stood his ground..!

[@patrickschorre2143]

I think your the first KZbinr to make a video on this topic.

[@iammrbeat]

Dang you might be right!

[@patrickschorre2143]

@@iammrbeat you should make a video on the best First Ladies.

[@theflaggedyoutuberii4311]

Here's a great idea for the next Countdown: The top 10 best secretaries of State. Thomas Jefferson better be number one.

[@pleaseenteraname1103]

He did some shady things while he was Secretary of State, no henry Kissinger is number 1.

[@bobapbob5812]

James Monroe George Marshal. Steward.

[@chadjones5791]

I read Douglas' autobiography over the summer "Of Men and Mountains." It's a fascinating read about Douglas' early life adventuring in the Cascades and I highly recommend, especially if you like the outdoors.

[@iammrbeat]

He was a HUGE environmentalist and outdoorsman, moreso than Teddy Roosevelt.

[@tr3vsxn]

As a plain law school student gotta say this is a very well made video with lots of facts, with a slight liberal preference in terms of the rankings but included some conservatism giants like White and Scalia as well. Big s/o for noticing the often neglected justices who introduced many philosophical concepts of law today such as Douglas and Brennan Jr. I’d probably replace Scalia and Story with two out of Rehnquist, Cardozo, and Black tho, considering their interpretation being a bit more often revisited and quoted shows that they heavily influence how jurists understand modern jurisprudence.

[@pleaseenteraname1103]

@@night6724 well I mean Douglas is the most controversial justice in US history, I mean he’s definitely the most far left in terms of justices, but I mean you can’t deny the impact he had.

[@pleaseenteraname1103]

I don’t know if I would say Byron white, was a conservative per se he was a moderate, I give him props for being one of the only two justices to be against Roe in Roe v. Wade, and I think William Rehnquist should’ve been on the list he’s one of my favorite justices in US history, I don’t know if Douglas would make my top 10 he definitely would not be in my top 3, I would 100% put Earl Warren on the list I mean I am kind of biased because I am a Californian plus my great uncle, worked for him actually, and there is a building dedicated to him that’s only about a half hour away from my house, and there’s no doubt that John Marshall is the best Justice in US history, I also like that he shed some light on potter Stewart and John Marshall Harlan both really underrated justices.

[@bradley8575]

This Channel is Underrated.

[@iammrbeat]

Well thank you! :D

[@shannonbeat]

Share share share 😎

[@blargl121]

With no qualification required they should make an Airbud film where he is on the Supreme court

[@Reklesspat]

Love the content Mr.Beat makes me wish I had you has a teacher growing up! Keep it up! But no RBG??????

[@happynotredamefan3736]

She was a liberal activist judge who didn’t have any leadership and didn’t really have much of an impact. She was not even the first women scotus. And Mr. Beat definitely leans to the lefts so as far as deciding who was right when deciding cases, she definitely had the benefit of the doubt on controversial issues. Therefor Mr. Beat despite being a democrat belives she is not one of his top 10.

[@that1valentian769]

@@happynotredamefan3736 Ngl, I think Beat’s a centrist that either leans left or is completely about cyclical theory. I’m kinda on the same boat and we’ve been in a very long conservative phase so I feel it’s time for a liberal phase. Like I would’ve voted for Reagan in 84 and Bush Sr but then I went Clinton and Gore so idk.

[@selvamantony5711]

RBG was amazing. Rest In Peace and Power.

[@okk]

Here are the current Supreme Court Justice clerk connections with Mr. Beat's list: Kavanaugh and Gorsuch clerked for Kennedy Barrett clerked for Scalia Kagan clerked for T. Marshall Fun fact: Alito interviewed to be a Byron White clerk but ultimately didn't get it

[@KhushiSingh-cl4qu]

And since then Alito has been building a career to destroy everything White and his colleagues accomplished.

[@bensonfang1868]

4:55 story also helped to found a law school for his alma mater (Harvard) and served as one of it’s first professors. This school would go on to educate many justices in the future

[@lionellong638]

Joseph Story was involved in the Amistad Case. " Give us free" !

[@christopherjohnson1803]

Hugo Black deserves to be right up there with William O Douglas. Can't disagree with Marshall at the top. He was unequaled.

[@nickbutler6842]

that Ground News sponsor actually seems like something that is pretty useful, esp for a youtube ad

[@iammrbeat]

I legitimately use it regularly

[@markjohnston8631]

An excellent and gutsy list that pretty much captures my own assessments. I might have included Hugo Black instead of Byron White, but I was glad to see William O. Douglas in such a high position, as his dogged if somewhat single-minded support for personal liberties is worthy of celebration.

[@dcpatriots8757]

Hugo Black was from the state of Alabama one court in Birmingham is named after him

[@tellthemborissentyou]

Shout out to Learned Hand, America's best ever judge. He doesn't make these lists on the minor technicality that he wasn't appointed to the Supreme Court.

[@iammrbeat]

lol I will have to look this fellow up.

[@tellthemborissentyou]

@@iammrbeat Aside from having the best name any judge has ever had, Billings Learned Hand spoke about inclusion during WWII at a time when Earl Warren was rounding up Japanese Americans and trampling their rights. Later Hand spoke out against judicial activism while the Warren court was doing their own thing. B Learned Hand is worth a video of his own. Since I am making requests have you considered Talking Heads and The Cars for videos on your other channel?

[@carlbeier8129]

Even before recent events, Scalia was extremely political & very partisan. You alluded to his supposed originalist principles. Two things about that - his "originalist' positions have little, even NO, historical support "at all." Second, if he thought (or reasoned) that originalism served the opinion he wanted to reach, he wrote it inuto his opinion. But, if he wanted another result, originalism, stare decisis, & precedent could be thrown out. His activism belied the constant 'conservative' complaint that liberal, leftist judges were activist. I find it interesting that U like Justice Warren for his decisions in civil & personal rights, voting rights, etc., all of which have been under constant attack by Scalia since he took the bench.

[@KhushiSingh-cl4qu]

Justice William Douglas was a badass and huge environmentalist. I wish that dude was still around. That guy is my favourite. I hope there's a Douglas 2.0 out there.

[@iammaxhailme]

Scalia must have a really high "impact" score, as he deserves about negative six billion points in the "ignoring partisanship" category

[@curranfrank2854]

He shouldn't be on the list. One of the worst justices we've had recently

[@iammrbeat]

He actually got it right on many decisions, too, imho.

[@mitchelllundgren4169]

@@curranfrank2854 that’s just because you’re bias, he’s one of the best justices we’ve ever had and one of the best legal minds in the history of the country

[@duckingcensorship1037]

@@curranfrank2854 Not saying he NEVER got anything wrong, but please do tell me where he was incorrect Constitutionally.

[@curranfrank2854]

@@duckingcensorship1037 He justified the use of waterboarding by (probably in part) using the tv show 24 to illustrate his point. A supreme court justice should not use a tv show to justify the use of torture, frankly that's embarrassing for a high schooler. I despise the idea of Originalism for interpreting the Constitution, as I view it as a flawed concept theoretically with catastrophic consequences in practice, and he was one of the most influential proponents of that. He was instrumental in giving Florida to Bush in the 2000 election, essential in getting the 5 conservative justices to vote in support of Bush by stopping the recount, when he easily could've allowed for the recount to continue- either in the specific counties initially requested by Gore or a whole statewide recount which was ordered by the Florida Supreme Court (first one, recounting in specific counties would've given Florida to Bush still, but a statewide recount would've given it to Gore and either way Scalia's insistence on pushing the case through and the final 5 to 4 vote really reveals a partisan tint to his views). He did not give a sh*t about being an unbiased arbiter of the law.

[@macmacreynolds8712]

6:32 Fun Fact: Potter Stewart was the last Supreme Court Justice whose Court service started off by way of a recess appointment.

[@AgmaSchwa]

Glad you did this topic justice 😏

[@iammrbeat]

YAS

[@mcwiggles]

I’ve wanted this video for a while, excited to see your picks!

[@iammrbeat]

WOOT

[@jkitty542]

I'm shocked to not see Hugo Black on this list.

[@iammrbeat]

He's in my top 15 for sure.

[@gamemaster6219]

Thank you for making this list. I have been waiting for it for a long time. Thanks

[@iammrbeat]

Heck yeah!

[@AlexBrandy3]

Bro wtf I just finished binge-watching Supreme Court Briefs and then this was uploaded 🤯

[@iammrbeat]

That is simply epic. 😳

[@wvu05]

Thurgood Marshall and Earl Warren are my favorites, but John Marshall clearly deserves the top spot. Question: why wasn't Souter honorable mention?

[@iammrbeat]

Souter was solid. I'd say he makes my top 25 probably.

[@ThinkTwice2222]

Maybe not the worst Justices, but one we're most glad didn't get their way

[@nicholasgregory8658]

Antonin Scalia there’s gonna be a lot of angry people in the comments but then again people get angry no matter what political positions you have

[@TheJudoJoker]

Scalia, as Mr. Beat pointed out, was far more complicated than given credit for. There's plenty of things I disagreed with him on, especially as a more liberal person myself. But the reality doesn't necessarily match the narrative. One of my favorite opinions of his was his dissenting opinion in Maryland v King... which I was the one who reccomended that SC Brief 😎

[@nicholasgregory8658]

TheJudoJoker I agree with what you’re saying I liked Scalia it’s just sad when someone in the center like Mr.Beat gets attacked for moving right or left on a certain issue

[@Cedricfilms]

I appreciate and respect what Scalia has done to the court and brought the belief of Original meaning to the world at large.. however, it feels weird to have him and not RBG somewhere as they both had a pretty strong effect in and outside of the court and RBG honestly may have had a bigger effect espically outside of the court

[@jacktaliasteinberg9681]

Rbg was an honorable mention

[@Cedricfilms]

@@jacktaliasteinberg9681 I understand that.. but that isn't on the list though definitely don't think Scalia should be that much above RBG or even if he should be above RBG at all.. but that's my opinion

[@jacktaliasteinberg9681]

@@Cedricfilms i know

[@iammrbeat]

I'm sorry I let you down with this one.

[@Cedricfilms]

@@iammrbeat You didn't let me down! I was just a little surprised! loved the list and your reasoning for all the justices you did include! Also I don't dislike Scalia he was a juggernaut and had some of the greatest dissents

[@vanguard9067]

@mr beat. Not sure you meant to say that Miranda v Arizona was a unanimous decision shepherded by Earl Warren. It was a 5-4 decision.

[@ValerietheLovelyDeadlyItalian]

well, this video picked an interesting time to pop up on my feed

[@iammrbeat]

Might be time for a worst justices video 😑

[@ValerietheLovelyDeadlyItalian]

@@iammrbeat damn right

[@lefty_itsme]

@@iammrbeat I think it is most definitely time

[@gehrigstory6674]

Yes! My Uncle Joey made the list! (He's the brother of my 5th great grand-father.) I hope everyone in Central Iowa are proud, cause I am! (There's a county in Iowa named after him, and sculptures made by his son inhabit the halls of Harvard.)

[@ValliantPoppys]

Maybe as a change in pace you can do top ten prime ministers in british history

[@BigJunnySoprano69]

If Clement Attlee isn’t top 3 I’m gonna riot

[@avatarmikephantom153]

I hope you will update this list to include future Chief Justice Bartholomew Jojo Simpson.

[@iammrbeat]

Don't have a cow, man!

[@TaliyahP]

I know 6 names that will never make this list...

[@DemocratsWillTryToCheat]

I know a "constitutional right" that was never in the constitution to begin with...

[@TaliyahP]

@@DemocratsWillTryToCheat the 14th amendment has been in the constitution for a while

[@lefty_itsme]

@@DemocratsWillTryToCheat doesn't matter if it was coded into it or not. It's still a right.

[@duckingcensorship1037]

This is the best Supreme Court this country has had in generations.

[@Paelspring]

@@duckingcensorship1037clarence thomas is an actual supervillain what are you talking about

[@yurineri2227]

great list, though I can't help but comment a shout out to my personal favorite, that being Pierce Butler For those who don't know, Butler was the only justice to Dissent in Buck v. Bell (the case where the super court said Compulsory sterilization was okay), and honestly, having the guts to go against the intiere court and the common "academic" and "popular" opinion at the time, beacuse he knew that it was the right thing to do, is what made him be the only sensible justice in Buck v. Bell

[@totallymeta3654]

Please do top 10 speakers of the house next!

[@iammrbeat]

That's a top notch suggestion. :)

[@OpinionesDeJACCsOpinions]

@@iammrbeat Top 10 President pro tempore after that?

[@dcpatriots8757]

@@iammrbeatI would predict Henry Clay is on top of the list in your opinion

[@twistamoneus]

Great video! A Worst/best Supreme Court rulings video would be cool as well

[@iammrbeat]

Thank you, and great suggestion!

[@so_dak-atheist]

Byron White actually played 3 seasons in the NFL. He played the last 2 seasons at the same time that he went to Yale law school.

[@hakimtazwell7790]

Nice, 2bad, we missed Ginsberg: I'm also interested in how our newest member flair,; her posturing during the nomination hearing were awesome, and thanks beatz for being on "The Beat, please give / send us more up-dates.

[@jarridboykin8818]

I guess one of the deciding factors should have been 'how' they interpreted the Constitution as opposed to being consistent in their interpretation.

[@benjaminmajeski140]

I think hugo black is pretty cool, he went from a member of the kkk to a man against segregation and discrimination!

[@iammrbeat]

Yeah, he was a good one.

[@johnjoshuashi1450]

Expected that Lil' John will be on top. Thanks for this, Mr. Beat! Gonna wait for the video on NYT v. Sullivan and Baker v. Carr. All the love from the PH!

[@iammrbeat]

Thanks John!

[@Speedster___]

Spoilers: Order Story Scalia Stewart White Harlan I Marshall Warren Douglas Brennan Marshall Notable exceptions: Hugo Black!!! Kennedy O’Connor Ginsburg

[@kelliturpin8530]

I am blessed to be a direct descendant of John Marshall! Did you know the Liberty Bell cracked the day he died? And that he is distant cousins with Thomas Jefferson?

[@torsoboi1132]

Great video as always! I always appreciate that you do your best to be as unbiased as possible. Interesting personal fact, I live about 5 minutes away from John Marshall's birthplace.

[@tomrogue13]

My favorite is Frank Murphy cuz he's from my hometown. He was the only justice to dissent on the death penalty.

[@iammrbeat]

He's another good one!

[@novidkidaxb2575]

Love the burger on Chief Justice burger at 13:38

[@Spongebrain97]

IMO because of the background of Thurgood Marshall and how influential he was both before and during his tenure as a supreme court judge, it seems like a huge spit in his face knowing he was replaced by Clarence Thomas 😑

[@iammrbeat]

Yeah Thomas is just not good at all.

[@Spongebrain97]

@@iammrbeat Yeah like Im not gonna be those people who dislikes a justice based off of their personal beliefs but his rulings and actions are just totally partisan based and he is a total representation of a Reagan appointee

[@Spongebrain97]

@@night6724 Marshall didn't ignore the constitution though 🤦‍♂️😅. He supported protecting civil liberties. Even Mr Beat who is a centrist and an educator agrees with me

[@Spongebrain97]

@@night6724 most libs are centrists though 🤦‍♂️. Including Mr Beat who has expressed dozens of times that he prefers a hands off government which is why he favor presidents like Calvin Coolidge. And Marbury v Madison just established judicial review. The constitution itself does not define explicitly what is judicial review is so it just applies to whatever the court at the time defines as constitutional. And again you're wrong in that Thurgood Marshall and his contemporaries did define civil liberties from the constitution, not " from their asses". Every case dealing with civil liberties they literally referred to the constitution and the amendments. So in the case of Brown v Board of Education the court declared that legal segregation was in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment. There's lots of stuff that wasn't orignally in the constitution but the founders knew that times would change so amendments were designed to keep up with a changing world.

[@wanderingthewastes6159]

BobPants SpongeSquare what's wrong with Clarence Thomas? I mean, except for some specific cases and his interpretation of the 4th, I think he's pretty darn good.

[@honeybadger1847]

Please discuss that contemplative footnote in Carolene Products.

[@andrasmolnar8867]

That legendary footnote was perhaps even more influential than the opinion itself. :-)

[@Strudlfaust]

I was sort of waiting for RBG to appear ln the list, but after listening to the explanations for each I was like - sure, ok, why not

[@tylerhackner9731]

Great vid. Imo the most underrated branch of government

[@ThePhl4ever]

Fun Fact about the Supreme Court Justices, the only Eagle Scout to be a Supreme Court justice is Stephen Breyer.

[@iammrbeat]

I didn't know that. :)

[@volhosis3784]

Before I watched the video I made a list of some justices that I thought might be in the video. This is the list: John Marshall Joseph Story Robert H Jackson Louis Brandeis Felix Frankfurter Earl Warren Thurgood Marshall John Marshall Harlan William Brennan William O Douglas Oliver Wendell Holmes Antonin Scalia Hugo Black Kinda surprised Brandeis or Holmes weren't in the video lol

[@iammrbeat]

At least Brandeis made my honorable mention list. :)

[@beansnrice321]

Thurgood Marshall, he was good! Love it! XD

[@shannonbeat]

Is this THE beans&rice I think it is?

[@jefft5824]

Great video. Only small suggestion, at 14:14-love the quote, just maybe keep it on the screen longer than a second (took a few tries to a screenshot of it)

[@cozycherry1790]

Before watching this Im gonna guess number one is John Marshall. Wish me luck!

[@iammrbeat]

You know what is up.

[@cozycherry1790]

@@iammrbeat :D

[@MsCherryKiss]

I would have liked to have heard a few details about one or two of the top cases these justices ruled on. It felt like too vague an overview to truly appreciate the choices. Perhaps if I were more of a SCOTUS scholar....

[@MFMegaZeroX7]

Strongly disagree with Scalia, who IMO was very inconsistent, and seemed to, like you said, not be an originalist, but more of just a conservative. Thus, he wasn't consistent, and would regularly make more harmful decisions because of it.

[@True2ChainzLilWayne]

Scalia did say people have a right to burn the U.S. flag whether you like it or not though he did have many other partisan conservative rulings. I think Mr. Beat might be libertarian right leaning he probably voted Bush though I also don’t think he supported Trump.

[@lol-xs9wz]

@@True2ChainzLilWayne He is definitely libertarian but somewhat left-leaning I would say. He doesn't mind government interference as long as it supports the people's pursuit of happiness.

[@koukkoufos2000]

@@True2ChainzLilWayne Nah, Teach is a civil libertarian who leans left but has bipartisan brain worms like Kyle Kulinski says 😂 I surprised he didn’t include Hugo Black who was a new dealer

[@True2ChainzLilWayne]

@@lol-xs9wz Yeah he certainly looks like he leans left in US politics especially I sort of got confused thinking of the global political Overton window where even Bernie Sanders can be classified as a centrist in many other countries.

[@Chris-xt8io]

@@True2ChainzLilWayne there’s no way Mr. beat is a right winger and he isn’t a libertarian, I think his constitutional amendments video proves that

[@macmacreynolds8712]

1:22 This photograph shows the Supreme Court from 1932-37 when both Justice Benjamin Cardozo and Justice Willis Van Devanter (a very interesting Justice from Wyoming; check out the book Wyoming: A Political History by Lewis Gould) were on the Court.

[@jggonzalez6299]

I hope someone has suggested doing the reverse of this list

[@bigk8210]

That would include James Clark McReynolds.

[@jggonzalez6299]

@@bigk8210 actually he's the reason I suggested it would love to hear his take on him and Tanney (the guy from the Dred Scott decision)

[@oriesheppard8498]

Ruth Bader Ginsburg should have been on this list over Scalia. What she did for modern womens rights is remarkable. She pioneered equality for women. Is there any particular reason she didn’t make this list?

[@SiVlog1989]

John Marshall in Marbury vs Maddison made a genius interpretation of the Judiciary Act 1789. Ruling it unconstitutional to appear to weaken the court, but in doing so, strengthening it longer term

[@str.77]

It also was a long-term coup d'état.

[@smokedsalts4441]

Whoa. Putting Antonin Scalia on here is going to make me look at you and your content differently now that’s for sure lol.

[@georgew.bush4372]

Put the justices that me and my dad put in the list

[@callumgaydecki823]

Can't believe you missed out Justice Brandies!!