# Sherman Minton *American politician and jurist; U.S. senator from Indiana and associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States* Sherman "Shay" Minton (October 20, 1890 – April 9, 1965) was an American lawyer, politician and judge. A member of the [[Democratic Party (United States)]], he represented Indiana in the [[United States Senate]] and later sat as an associate justice of the [[Supreme Court of the United States]].[^1] His public career ran from the head of an Indiana utility regulation commission to a Senate seat won in 1934, a judgeship on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit from 1941, and seven years on the Supreme Court. In the Senate he backed President Franklin D. Roosevelt's court packing plans, which did not succeed.[^1] On the Supreme Court he favored judicial restraint. He generally joined majority opinions in his first years there. He dissented more often once President [[Dwight Eisenhower]]'s appointees had changed the Court's makeup. As of the cached Wikipedia revision, he is the most recent member of Congress to be named to the Supreme Court.[^1] ## Early life Minton was born on October 20, 1890, in Georgetown, Indiana. His parents were John Evan and Emma Livers Minton, and he was the third of their four children. He was educated through eighth grade in a two-room schoolhouse in Georgetown.[^1] In 1898 his father, a railroad laborer, suffered heat stroke at work and was disabled. Minton began taking odd jobs to help support the household. His mother died in April 1900 during an operation to remove tumors.[^1] In 1904 a justice of the peace fined him one dollar plus court costs for riding his bicycle on the sidewalk. Minton later said the episode first made him want to become a lawyer. With that aim, he went to Fort Worth, Texas, and worked at the Swift & Company meatpacking plant there.[^1] ## Political career Minton first sought a congressional seat in Indiana's 3rd district in 1920. He lost the Democratic primary to John Ewing by a wide margin. He practiced law in Indiana and, from 1925, in Miami with Shutts & Bowen, and he returned to Indiana in January 1928. In 1930 he lost the district's Democratic nomination again, this time to Eugene B. Crowe by four thousand votes.[^1] He became a local commander of the American Legion. Paul McNutt was the Legion's national commander, and the two became political allies. After McNutt became [[governor]] of Indiana in 1932, he placed Minton at the head of a new utility regulation commission. As commissioner, Minton imposed regulations that lowered state telephone rates by $525,000 a year.[^1] ### U.S. Senate Party leaders urged Minton to run for the Senate in 1934. At the state Democratic convention he faced Earl Peters, a former state party chairman. With McNutt's backing, Minton won the nomination on the third ballot, 827 votes to 586.[^1] During the campaign Minton defended New Deal legislation. In a series of addresses, he suggested that upholding the Constitution was not necessary during the Great Depression. His opponents denounced the campaign. One address, which became known as the "You Cannot Eat the Constitution" speech, drew wider criticism.[^1] He won the seat. As part of the New Deal Coalition, he became one of Roosevelt's leading Senate allies and pressed the President's court packing plans. He lost his bid for reelection in 1940.[^1] ## Seventh Circuit Roosevelt announced Minton's nomination to the Chicago-based Seventh Circuit on May 7, 1941. The Senate confirmed him unanimously on May 12, 1941, and he received his commission on May 22, 1941.[^1] He took the oath on May 29, 1941, while the court was in recess, and took his seat when it reconvened on October 7, 1941. At the time, the Seventh Circuit carried the heaviest load of any federal appellate court, an average of 40 cases per judge each year. During World War II, the court heard challenges to selective service laws, price controls, rationing and other wartime measures. Minton said on several occasions that he preferred to affirm lower-court decisions.[^1] ## Supreme Court ### Nomination and confirmation President Harry S. Truman and Minton had become close friends while both served in the Senate. At a news conference on September 15, 1949, Truman named Minton to fill the seat of the late Justice [[Wiley Rutledge]]. Truman cited Minton's legal education and his years on the circuit court.[^1] Press reaction was divided. The [[New York Times]] said that personal and political friendship had shaped Truman's choice. The [[Washington Post]] questioned whether Minton could win confirmation, given the influence of his opponents in the Senate.[^1] Indiana Senator William E. Jenner led an effort to call Minton before the Senate for hearings. Minton answered some questions in a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, but he refused to appear at a hearing. He said it would be improper for a sitting judge and former senator to do so.[^1] The Senate confirmed Minton on October 4, 1949, by a vote of 48 to 16. Those voting no were 15 Republicans and one Democrat, Harry Flood Byrd of Virginia.[^1] ### Tenure Minton spent seven years on the Court. He usually voted with the majority early in his tenure. After Eisenhower's appointees changed the Court's composition, he dissented regularly.[^1] ## Later life Poor health led Minton to retire in 1956. He returned to his home in New Albany, Indiana. For several years he took occasional temporary assignments on lower federal courts, and he lectured at Indiana University from time to time. He traveled widely in the United States and made two trips to Europe. He received honorary doctorates from the University of Louisville and, in 1956, from Oxford University. He stayed active in the Democratic Party and kept up a correspondence with Truman.[^1] In late March 1965, Minton was admitted to Floyd Memorial Hospital in New Albany, where doctors found internal bleeding. He died in his sleep early on April 9, 1965. He was buried in Holy Trinity Cemetery on Green Valley Road in New Albany.[^1] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Sherman Minton* (revision 1373447769, retrieved 2026-10-26) — biography covering early life, Indiana and Senate career, Seventh Circuit and Supreme Court service, confirmation vote, retirement and death. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherman_Minton