Nine Justices Prevail

The number of Supreme Court justices is one part of the “Amistad” storytelling that Steven Spielberg got right (Saturday Letters, Jan. 3).

In March 1837, Congress created two more seats on the court because a number of newly admitted states had been without federal circuit court justices and thus without circuit courts. Accordingly, when the Amistad case was heard in the 1841 term, the Supreme Court had nine justices rather than seven. Nine justices became the norm for the next 25 years. For example, the most infamous slavery case in American history, the Dred Scott case of 1857, was decided by a 7-2 vote.

The specter of slavery, the Civil War and Reconstruction policy had a great impact on the size of the court during the 1860s. As president, Abraham Lincoln managed to expand the court to 10 justices. When Andrew Johnson replaced Lincoln in 1865, Congress reduced the number to seven in order to deny Johnson the opportunity to appoint justices who might return the nation to the Dred Scott days.

After Grant’s election in 1869, Congress restored the number to nine, and that has remained the standard ever since.

GORDON LLOYD

Department of Government

University of Redlands