George Shiras Jr.

George Shiras Jr. represents an almost vanished path to the nation's highest court. Appointed by President Benjamin Harrison in 1892, he arrived with nearly four decades of corporate law practice in Pittsburgh but had never sat as a judge. His tenure, though quiet and scholarly, was bookended by two consequential votes. In 1895, he sided with the 5-4 majority in Pollock v. Farmers' Loan, which struck down a federal income tax. A year later, he was part of the 7-1 majority in Plessy v. Ferguson, endorsing the 'separate but equal' doctrine that legalized racial segregation for over half a century. He was known for meticulous preparation and a reserved demeanor, retiring after a decade to return to private life, leaving a legacy defined more by the historic weight of the Court's rulings during his time than by a distinctive judicial philosophy of his own.