Born on November 20, 1885, in Mercer County, Illinois, Phillips received a Juris Doctor in 1908 from the University of Michigan Law School.

[1] Phillips was nominated by President Herbert Hoover on April 18, 1929, to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, to a new seat authorized by 45 Stat.

He had been considered a possibility to replace Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. as Associate Justice when the latter stepped down in 1932,[3] but the choice ultimately went to Benjamin N. Cardozo.

Following the death of Harlan Fiske Stone in 1946, Phillips was on Harry S. Truman’s short list to replace him as Chief Justice, but the job ultimately went to Fred Vinson.

[4] In 1953 Phillips was considered one of the final six prospects to replace Vinson as Chief Justice but was not chosen due to his age at the time.