Abe Fortas Associate Justice Nomination
Johnson intended early on to appoint his longtime friend and adviser Abe Fortas to the Court. Johnson thought that some of his Great Society reforms could be ruled unconstitutional by the Court, and he felt that Fortas would let him know if that was to happen. Johnson and Fortas did collaborate while Fortas was a justice; Fortas co-wrote Johnson's 1966 State of the Union speech. Rather than wait passively for a sitting Justice to retire, Johnson actively sought to persuade Justice Arthur Goldberg to resign his seat in order to become Ambassador to the United Nations. Goldberg's resignation from the court took effect on July 26, 1965.
Goldberg wrote in his memoirs that he resigned in order to have influence in keeping the peace in Vietnam and that after the crisis had passed he expected he would be reappointed to the Supreme Court by Johnson. "I had an exaggerated opinion of my capacities. I thought I could persuade Johnson that we were fighting the wrong war in the wrong place to get out."
Fortas was easily confirmed by the United States Senate on August 11, 1965.
Read more about this topic: Lyndon B. Johnson Supreme Court Candidates
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