Sherman Minton Supreme Court nomination

The nomination was met with a mixed reception and faced active opposition stemming both from the belief that Minton would be a liberal justice and from his history as a New Deal-supporting member of the United States Senate.

At a September 15, 1949, news conference, Truman announced Minton's nomination to the Supreme Court, succeeding the late Justice Wiley Rutledge.

[2] Truman touted Minton's extensive law education and his years of experience on the circuit courts as the reason for his nomination.

[4] Minton had served eight years on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit after being appointed in 1941 by then-president Franklin D. Roosevelt.

[4] During the long debate over Minton's appointment, criticism would largely focus on his partisanship, past support of the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937 court packing plan during his time in the Senate, and his poor health.

[6] A great many city newspapers gave what The Cincinnati Enquirer characterized as a "chilly" response to the nomination, much of which, Recalled his days as a fire-eating New Dealer and a legislator who sought to "muzzle the press" with a federal measure to provide stiff penalties for publishing "false" matter.

[2] The Indianapolis Star offered a more sympathetic opinion, pointing out Minton's qualifications and the pride Indiana could take in having a native on the Supreme Court.

[15] Minton's nomination had faced intense questioning from Republican Senators on his past support for the failed 1937 court packing scheme.

After this, Senator Homer S. Ferguson (R– MI) angrily left the committee chamber and voiced his dissatisfaction to reporters that he would be unable to ask Minton questions he had intended to pose to him.

[22] To date, Minton remains the last member of Congress, sitting or former, to be appointed to the United States Supreme Court.