Warren Court - blank sheet signed by Supreme Court Justices Tom Clark, Hugo Black, Earl Warren William O. Douglas, Byron White, William Brennan, Potter Stewart and Arthur Goldberg. They have signed in two groupings that correspond to formal Court photos of two rows arranged by alternating seniority to the Chief's right and left.
This Court sat from Oct 1962, when Goldberg joined to October 1965, when he resigned to become Ambassador to the United Nations. The "Warren Court" was nine different combinations of Justices during Warren's tenure as Chief Justice. No Associate Justice serving when Warren took over as Chief was still sitting when he retired. The Warren Court's legacy could be marked by three inflection points. The first was Warren's arrival and his leadership in the school desegregation cases. The second might be William Brennan joining three years later to help Warren find a stronger voice for an activist Court. The third would be Goldberg's arrival in 1962, creating a more dependable five-four majority for that voice. The Warren/Goldberg Court of three years created some of the famous procedural law enforcement issues such as Gideon and Escoledo, which led to Miranda. It also broke new ground on personal liberty cases with rulings such as Griswold and contraception.
The sheet and small b/w photo have been double matted with dual window cuts of the matting. At sight, the signed paper is 5.25 x 4.5; the photo is 4.5 x 4. The outside dimensions of the gold frame are 10.75 x 14.25. A slip from Rendell Galleries suggests it may have been framed by the famed Gallery. There is some slight fading or browning to the signatures of Warren, White and Brennan. Overall, an excellent representation of one of the most influential Courts in the past 100 years, ready to be hung in an understated but striking presentation.
