He gained a reputation for his decisions against price fixing schemes (for example the Wool Institute case in 1930) and for giving out long jail sentences to bootleggers.
[3] In 1929, President Herbert Hoover appointed Grubb to the Wickersham Commission in response to the crime wave and lingering questions about the effectiveness of Prohibition.
William E. Bulcher, an Alabama saw mill owner, was indicted by a federal grand jury in August 1934 for violations of the National Recovery Act after earlier agreeing to comply.
[5] In December 1934, Grubb ruled in Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority that the government had no right to engage in the power business except to dispose of a surplus incidental to the exercise of some other constitutional function.
Senator George W. Norris, the prime sponsor of the New Deal's power program, declared: "The effect of the injunction is practically to nullify the whole TVA Act.
[7] When the case reached the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes wrote that the TVA was constitutional, giving Roosevelt a major victory.
[citation needed] A local delegation welcoming Harrison was somewhat surprised when he warmly greeted the young lawyer, who responded with "Hello Uncle Ben.