# Pierce Butler (judge) *Associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1923–1939, and Ramsey County Attorney, 1892–1896* Pierce Butler (March 17, 1866 – November 16, 1939), born in Northfield, Minnesota, sat on the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] as an associate justice from 1923 until he died in office in 1939.[^1] He was the first justice from [[Minnesota]]. He was also a Democrat placed on the Court by a Republican president, Warren G. Harding.[^1][^2] Before his federal service he held the office of [[Ramsey County Attorney]] from 1892 to 1896. The county history companion records that he served first as an assistant in the office and was then elected.[^3][^4] In 1894 he obtained the convictions and executions of Ermisch and Wonnigkeit. The same history records this as the only double execution in the county's history.[^5] On the Court he was counted among the so-called "Four Horsemen", the conservative bloc of the 1930s. In *[[Buck v. Bell]]* (1927) he was the sole dissenter and wrote no opinion.[^1][^6][^2] ## Early life and education Butler's parents, Patrick and Mary Ann Butler, were Irish Catholic immigrants from County Wicklow. They had left Ireland because of the Great Famine and met in Galena, Illinois. He was born in a log cabin in Northfield, the sixth of their nine children.[^7] He graduated from Carleton College in 1887 with degrees in both arts and science. After a year of reading law, he was admitted to the bar in 1888.[^7] Annie M. Cronin became his wife in 1891.[^7] ## Legal career Ramsey County voters chose Butler as [[county attorney]] in 1892 and returned him to the office in 1894.[^8] The county history companion gives his term as 1892–1896.[^3] Its MNopedia note records that he had been an assistant in the office before his election.[^4] Its table places in 1894 the Ermisch and Wonnigkeit convictions and executions that he obtained.[^5] In 1896 he entered the firm of How & Eller, which was renamed How & Butler when Homer C. Eller died the next year.[^8] He then took up an offer to practice in [[Saint Paul, Minnesota]], where he conducted railroad litigation for James J. Hill. In 1905 he went back to private practice with Jared How.[^8] He also acted as counsel to a company owned by his five brothers.[^8] The [[Minnesota State Bar Association]] elected him its president in 1908.[^8] Between 1912 and 1922 he practiced railroad law in Canada. He represented, at different times, the shareholders of railroad companies and the Canadian government.[^8] When he was nominated to the Supreme Court in 1922, he was pursuing a recovery of about $12,000,000 for shareholders of the Toronto Street Railway.[^8] ## Supreme Court justice ### Nomination and confirmation Harding, a Republican, nominated Butler on December 5, 1922, to the seat vacated by [[William R. Day]].[^9] Butler said that a fellow Minnesotan, William D. Mitchell, should have been chosen: "Billie Mitchell, not I, should be named."[^9] Chief Justice [[William Howard Taft]] backed the nomination.[^9] Part of the opposition rested on Butler's record on the [[University of Minnesota]] [[Board of Regents]], where he had opposed professors described as "radical" and "disloyal".[^9] The following opposed his confirmation:[^9] - Farmer–Labor Senator-elect Henrik Shipstead of Minnesota. - Progressive Senator Robert M. La Follette of Wisconsin. - Labor activists. - The magazines *The New Republic* and *The Nation*. - The Ku Klux Klan, which the source states opposed him because he was Catholic. His supporters were these:[^9] - Prominent Roman Catholics. - Fellow lawyers, including the Minnesota State Bar Association. - Business groups, especially railroad companies. - Minnesota's two sitting senators, the Republicans [[Knute Nelson]] and Frank B. Kellogg (Kellogg was then a lame duck). The [[United States Senate]] confirmed Butler on December 21, 1922, by a vote of 61–8. He took the judicial oath on January 2, 1923.[^9] The county history companion, citing MNopedia, gives January 2, 1923, as the date of confirmation.[^10][^4] The Wikipedia article, which ranks higher among this pack's sources, gives that date for the oath and December 21, 1922, for the Senate vote.[^9] ### Court service As a justice, Butler opposed federal regulation of business and federal welfare programs as unconstitutional.[^11] During the Great Depression he ruled against the constitutionality of New Deal laws, including the Agricultural Adjustment Administration and the National Recovery Administration. Those measures had been supported by the Democratic president Franklin D. Roosevelt.[^11] These rulings placed him among the "Four Horsemen".[^11][^1] He cast the only dissent in *Buck v. Bell* in 1927 and filed no opinion.[^1][^6] The record in this pack does not establish his reasons for the dissent.[^6] ### Death and legacy Butler was admitted to a Washington, D.C., hospital on November 15, 1939, for "a minor ailment". He died early on November 16, aged 73, still a sitting justice. He was the last of Harding's appointees on the Court.[^12] A high requiem mass was held at St. Matthew's Cathedral.[^12] The members of the Court photographed at the funeral were these:[^12] - Chief Justice [[Charles Evans Hughes]]. - Justices [[Felix Frankfurter]], [[Hugo Black]], Harlan Stone, Owen J. Roberts, [[Stanley Forman Reed]] and [[William O. Douglas]]. - The retired justices [[Willis Van Devanter]] and [[George Sutherland]]. He was buried in Calvary Cemetery in St. Paul.[^12] Most of his papers and his family's papers are held by the [[Minnesota Historical Society]].[^12] The Pierce Butler Route in Saint Paul is named for his son, Pierce Butler Jr.[^12] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - Pierce Butler, Ramsey County Attorney, 1892–1896, first as an assistant and then by election.[^3][^4] - The first Minnesotan on the U.S. Supreme Court.[^2][^10] ### What - In 1894, obtained the convictions and executions of Ermisch and Wonnigkeit, recorded as the only double execution in county history.[^5] - Sole dissenter in *Buck v. Bell* (1927), with no opinion explaining his reasoning.[^6] ### When - Ramsey County Attorney, 1892–1896.[^3] - Nominated by Harding in 1922.[^4] - Confirmed January 2, 1923, according to the county history companion. The Wikipedia article gives December 21, 1922, for confirmation and January 2, 1923, for the oath.[^10][^9] ### Where - Ramsey County.[^3] - Saint Paul, where he practiced law and is buried.[^8][^12] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Pierce Butler (judge)*, lead section (revision 1359695122, retrieved 2026-10-26) — gives his dates, his 1923–1939 service, that he was the first justice from Minnesota, and that he was a Democrat appointed by a Republican president. It also places him in the Four Horsemen and records that he was the sole dissenter in Buck v. Bell without an opinion. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierce_Butler_(judge) [^2]: Minnesota wiki history, *Ramsey County complete history*, section XI.1, prose row HE-0058 (1892) — records that Butler, Ramsey County Attorney 1892–1896, became the first Minnesotan on the Supreme Court and cast the sole dissent in Buck v. Bell. [^3]: Minnesota wiki history, *Companion to RAMSEY_COUNTY_COMPLETE_HISTORY_2026-09-02.md*, table row HE-0057 (1892–1896) — records that Pierce Butler serves as Ramsey County Attorney. [^4]: Minnesota wiki history, *Ramsey County complete history*, Sources and Footnotes, row HE-0088, note [79], citing MNopedia, *Butler, Pierce (1866–1939)* (January 2, 1923) — records that he was an assistant and then the elected Ramsey County Attorney, that Harding nominated him in 1922, that he was confirmed January 2, 1923, and that he was the sole dissenter in Buck v. Bell. [^5]: Minnesota wiki history, *Companion to RAMSEY_COUNTY_COMPLETE_HISTORY_2026-09-02.md*, table row HE-0060 (1894) — records that Butler obtained the convictions and executions of Ermisch and Wonnigkeit, the only double execution in county history. [^6]: Minnesota wiki history, *Companion to RAMSEY_COUNTY_COMPLETE_HISTORY_2026-09-02.md*, table row HE-0091 (1927) — records Buck v. Bell, with Butler as the sole dissenter and no stated reasoning. [^7]: Wikipedia contributors, *Pierce Butler (judge)*, "Early life and education" (revision 1359695122, retrieved 2026-10-26) — covers his birth, parents and education, his 1888 admission to the bar and his 1891 marriage. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierce_Butler_(judge) [^8]: Wikipedia contributors, *Pierce Butler (judge)*, "Legal career" (revision 1359695122, retrieved 2026-10-26) — covers his 1892 and 1894 elections as county attorney, his law firms, the railroad work for Hill, the 1908 bar presidency, his Canadian practice and the Toronto Street Railway matter. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierce_Butler_(judge) [^9]: Wikipedia contributors, *Pierce Butler (judge)*, "Nomination and confirmation" (revision 1359695122, retrieved 2026-10-26) — gives the nomination of December 5, 1922, the supporters and opponents, the 61–8 confirmation of December 21, 1922, and the oath of January 2, 1923. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierce_Butler_(judge) [^10]: Minnesota wiki history, *Companion to RAMSEY_COUNTY_COMPLETE_HISTORY_2026-09-02.md*, table row HE-0086 (January 2, 1923) — records Pierce Butler confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court as the first Minnesotan. [^11]: Wikipedia contributors, *Pierce Butler (judge)*, "Court service" (revision 1359695122, retrieved 2026-10-26) — covers his opposition to federal regulation and welfare programs, his rulings against New Deal laws, and the Four Horsemen. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierce_Butler_(judge) [^12]: Wikipedia contributors, *Pierce Butler (judge)*, "Death and legacy" (revision 1359695122, retrieved 2026-10-26) — covers his hospitalization and death, his status as the last Harding appointee, the funeral, his burial, his papers and the Pierce Butler Route. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierce_Butler_(judge)