Justice of The U.S. Supreme Court
On November 15, 1811, Duvall was nominated by President James Madison to an Associate Justice seat on the Supreme Court of the United States vacated by fellow Marylander Samuel Chase. Duvall was confirmed by the United States Senate on November 18, 1811, and received his commission the same day.
In the twenty-three years he sat on the Supreme Court, Duvall penned an opinion in only eighteen cases: fifteen majority opinions, two concurrence, and one dissent.
He served until January 12, 1835, when he resigned due to old age. According to one of Chief Justice Marshall's biographers, Duvall "became distinguished for holding on to his seat for many years after he had become aged and infirm because he was fearful of who would replace him, thus inaugurating what has become a popular tradition for subsequent Supreme Court Justices." According to his biographer, Irving Dillard, in his last few years on the Court, Duvall was "so deaf as to be unable to participate in conversation." Prof. Currie retorts that: "There is no proof ... that Duvall was either deaf or unable to speak while on the Court".
Read more about this topic: Gabriel Duvall
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