. The Supreme Court had become badly divided when it came to New Deal legislation with four of the justices on each side of every New Deal issue. Unhappy with the Court’s recent decisions, Roosevelt suggested that for every justice over the age of 70, at the time there were six, a new justice be added. The plan was under consideration by the Judiciary Committee when the verdict in a key minimum wage case, West Coast Hotel v. Parish , came down. The verdict in West Coast was exactly what Roosevelt had hoped for, and to this day there is speculation that Justice Roberts voted with Justices Stone, Cardozo, Brandeis, and Hughes to preserve the Court from Roosevelt’s plan. While this clearly was not the direct cause, the Justices had cast their votes 2 months before Roosevelt announced his plan, there is little doubt that the tremendous pressure placed upon the Court by Roosevelt, congress and the public had an impact on the outcome of the case. Although the Court survived intact, a severe shift toward liberalism was apparent. The Court-packing plan, however, is not the sole reason for the shift toward a federalist perspective. For nearly every year of his presidency after 1936, Roosevelt appointed one, if not more, Supreme Court Justices. The sheer number of appointees was enough to alter the face of the Court. His first appointee was Justice Black who characterized what would become the attitude of the Court for the next few decades by saying, “It is up to federal legislators to decide on the wisdom and utility of legislation.” The Justices Roosevelt appointed were tremendously influential not just for their numbers but also for their longevity. At minimum, they were on the Court for 15 years. The liberal bent they gave the Court can be seen throughout the decisions of the next few decades.Through an examination of the most renowned cases of the next 6 decades, the liberal movement of the Court away...
