Benjamin N. Cardozo

Benjamin Nathan Cardozo (May 24, 1870–July 9, 1938) was a distinguished American jurist who is remembered not only for his landmark decisions on negligence but also his modesty and philosophy.

Contents

1 Biography 1.1 Early years 1.2 Illustrious career 1.3 A man alone 2 In his own words 3 Sites and buildings named after Benjamin Cardozo

Biography

Early years

Born in New York City to Albert and Rebecca Nathan Cardozo, he was a twin, born with his sister Emily. Cardozo's ancestors were Sephardic Jews who immigrated to the United States in the 1740s and 1750s from Portugal via the Netherlands and England.

Albert Cardozo was himself a justice of the Supreme Court of New York (the state's general trial court) until he was implicated in a judicial corruption scandal, sparked by the Erie Railway takeover wars, in 1868. The scandal led to the creation of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, and Albert's resignation from the bench. After leaving the court, he practiced law until his death in 1885.

Rebecca Cardozo died in 1879, and Benjamin was raised during much of his childhood by his sister Nell, who was 11 years older than Benjamin. At age 15, Cardozo entered Columbia University, and then went on to Columbia Law School in 1889. Cardozo wanted to enter a profession that could materially aid himself and his siblings, but he also hoped to restore the family name, sullied by his father's actions as a justice. After only two years, and without a law degree, Cardozo left Columbia to practice law.

Illustrious career

From 1891 to 1914, Benjamin Cardozo practiced law in New York City with his brother Albert Cardozo, Jr., until Allbert's death in 1909.

In the November 1913 elections, Cardozo was narrowly elected to the state Supreme Court, the same trial court on which his father had served. Cardozo took office on January 5, 1914. Less than a month later, Cardozo was appointed to the New York Court of Appeals, the highest court in the state. He was the first Jew to serve in the Court of Appeals, and remained there until 1932, becoming Chief Judge on January 1, 1927.

His tenure was marked by a number of original rulings, in tort and contract law in particular. In 1921, Cardozo gave the Storrs lectures at Yale, which was later published as The Nature of the Judicial Process, a book that remains valuable to judges today. Shortly thereafter, Cardozo became a member of the group that founded the American Law Institute, which crafted a Restatement of the Law of Torts, Contracts, and a host of other private law subjects. His majority opinion in Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad Co. in 1928 was important in the development of the concept of proximate cause in tort law.

In 1932, President Herbert Hoover appointed Chief Judge Cardozo to the U.S. Supreme Court to succeed Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes. He was the second Jew, after Louis Brandeis, to be appointed to the Supreme Court. Because of his Iberian roots and fluency in Spanish, some commentators consider him to have been the first Hispanic Justice as well (present Associate Justice Antonin Scalia is the second). In his years as an Associate Justice, he handed down opinions that stressed the necessity for the law to adapt to the realities and needs of modern life.

A man alone

In late 1937, Cardozo had a heart attack, and in early 1938, he suffered a stroke. He died on July 9, 1938, at the age of 68.

Of the six children born to Albert and Rebecca Cardozo, only Emily married, and she and her husband did not have any children. As far as is known, Benjamin Cardozo led the life of a celibate. As an adult, Cardozo no longer practiced his faith, but remained proud of his Jewish heritage.

In his own words

Cardozo's opinion of himself shows somewhat of the same flair as his opinions:

In truth, I am nothing but a plodding mediocrity--please observe, a plodding mediocrity--for a mere mediocrity does not go very far, but a plodding one gets quite a distance. There is joy in that success, and a distinction can come from courage, fidelity and industry.

Sites and buildings named after Benjamin Cardozo

• Cardozo High School in Queens, New York
• Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University in New York City
• Cardozo High School in Washington, D.C.
• U. St./African-American Civil War Memorial/Cardozo Metro Stop in Washington, DC
• Benjamin N. Cardozo Lodge #163 http://www.cardozospeaks.org

Preceded by: Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States March 14, 1932 – July 9, 1938

Succeeded by: Felix Frankfurter Template:End box