Get to know OTHER Supreme Court Justices: The Legacy of Justice James Clark McReynolds: A Narrative of Judicial Infamy

In the long and complex history of the United States Supreme Court, certain justices are remembered for landmark opinions, soaring rhetoric, or principled dissents. Others are recalled for more ignoble reasons. Among the latter, one name often rises to the top of the list: Justice James Clark McReynolds—widely considered, by legal scholars and historians alike, to be one of the worst justices ever to serve on the Court.

Born in Kentucky in 1862, McReynolds was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Woodrow Wilson in 1914. Wilson, a Southern Democrat, believed McReynolds’ experience as Attorney General and his reputation as a conservative trust-buster made him a good fit. But the decision would haunt the Court for nearly three decades.

McReynolds brought to the bench a rigid and often reactionary judicial philosophy, one that viewed nearly all government regulation as unconstitutional. He became a leading member of the so-called “Four Horsemen”—a bloc of justices who consistently struck down New Deal legislation during the Great Depression, thwarting efforts by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to respond to the nation’s economic crisis. McReynolds saw economic liberty and property rights as sacred, and he wielded the Constitution as a sword against progressive reforms aimed at helping the poor and working class.

But it wasn’t just his opinions that earned McReynolds his infamous reputation—it was also his personal conduct, both on and off the bench. McReynolds was known for his blatant racism, anti-Semitism, and misogyny, all of which were shockingly overt even by the standards of his time. He refused to speak to Justice Louis Brandeis, the first Jewish member of the Court, and would leave the room when Brandeis delivered an opinion. When Justice Benjamin Cardozo, another Jewish jurist, was appointed, McReynolds reportedly muttered, “Another one?” He refused to sign the customary letter of mourning when Brandeis died and skipped his memorial service.

His bigotry didn’t end with religious prejudice. McReynolds also expressed disdain for Black people, women, and nearly anyone who didn’t fit his narrow conception of “American.” He once left the room in protest when a Black attorney began arguing before the Court and made it known that he disapproved of women practicing law. When President Herbert Hoover appointed Florence Allen, the first female federal appellate judge, McReynolds was said to have turned his back to her in group photos.

He was also known to be lazy and cruel. He rarely wrote major opinions and often tried to delegate work to his clerks. His temperament was legendarily nasty—he reportedly refused to allow clerks to speak in his presence unless spoken to and berated staff for minor mistakes. One of his colleagues called him “an evil old man.”
Despite his harsh views and toxic personality, McReynolds managed to stay on the bench until 1941. He retired only when the Court had shifted ideologically and he had become largely irrelevant. He died in 1946, leaving behind no spouse, no children, and few mourners.

To say McReynolds left a complex legacy would be generous. His legal opinions are mostly forgotten, except by constitutional scholars studying the Court’s resistance to the New Deal. His name is now more often invoked as a cautionary tale—a reminder of what happens when personal prejudice and judicial power mix.
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In the end, Justice James Clark McReynolds may be remembered not for the content of his jurisprudence, but for the ugliness of his character. The Supreme Court, like all human institutions, reflects the strengths and flaws of the people who serve on it. McReynolds, unfortunately, remains a symbol of the worst that can happen when moral failing is cloaked in judicial authority.