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Plessy v. Ferguson

(Encyclopedia)Plessy v. Ferguson, case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1896. The court upheld an 1890 Louisiana statute mandating racially segregated but equal railroad carriages, ruling that the equal protect...

Kellogg, Frank Billings

(Encyclopedia)Kellogg, Frank Billings, 1856–1937, American lawyer, U.S. senator (1917–23), and cabinet member, b. Potsdam, N.Y. As a child, he moved to Olmstead co., Minn. He later studied law and held several ...

Souter, David Hackett

(Encyclopedia)Souter, David Hackett, 1939–, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1990–2009), b. Melrose, Mass. A graduate of Harvard Law School, he served as New Hampshire's attorney general (1976–78)...

Sotomayor, Sonia

(Encyclopedia)Sotomayor, Sonia sōtōmīyôrˈ [key], 1954–, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (2009–), b. Bronx, N.Y., to Puerto Rican parents, grad. Princeton (B.A. 1976), Yale (J.D. 1979). She work...

Mansour, Adly Mahmud

(Encyclopedia)Mansour, Adly Mahmud, 1945–, Egyptian judge and political leader. Educated in the law and public administration, he joined the state council in 1970, and was appointed to Egypt's supreme constitutio...

treaty

(Encyclopedia)treaty, in international law, formal agreement between sovereign states or organizations of states. The term treaty is ordinarily confined to important formal agreements, while less formal internation...

Stone, Harlan Fiske

(Encyclopedia)Stone, Harlan Fiske, 1872–1946, American jurist, 12th chief justice of the United States (1941–46), b. Chesterfield, N.H. A graduate (1898) of Columbia Univ. law school, he was admitted (1899) to ...

Peckham, Rufus Wheeler

(Encyclopedia)Peckham, Rufus Wheeler pĕkˈəm [key], 1838–1909, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1895–1909), b. Albany, N.Y. Admitted (1859) to the bar, he became a leading Albany lawyer and was pr...

San Juan, river, Nicaragua

(Encyclopedia)San Juan sän hwän [key], river, c.110 mi (180 km) long, flowing from the southeast corner of Lake Nicaragua E to the Caribbean Sea, near the port of San Juan del Norte. The lower course of the deep ...

Jackson, Robert Houghwout

(Encyclopedia)Jackson, Robert Houghwout houˈət [key], 1892–1954, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1941–54), b. Spring Creek, Pa. Despite the fact that he did not have a law degree, he was admitted...