In light of the recent passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the nomination of my fellow South Bend resident Amy Coney Barrett to succeed her on the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), I've been thinking about my (distant) relatives who served on the Court many moons ago: John Marshall Harlan (1833-1911; served 1877-1911) and his grandson, John Marshall Harlan II (1899-1971; served 1955-1971).
One of the things I've learned is that positions on the Court are numbered. There are currently nine seats on the Court -- those of the Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices -- and they are designated Seats 1 through 9. Originally there were six seats -- those of the Chief Justice and five Associate Justices -- and just after the Civil War for a brief time there were ten until the number was restored to nine. When a vacancy occurs -- through resignation (rare), retirement (less rare), or death (the norm) -- the successor assumes the designated seat number of the departed member.
Justice Ginsburg occupied seat 6, the seat previously occupied by Byron White (served 1962-1993). Assuming the advice and consent of the United Stats Senate, Amy Coney Barrett will assume seat 6.
My third half-cousin (three times removed), the elder John Marshall Harlan, occupied seat 8, the seat later held by Potter Stewart, Sandra Day O'Connor (the first female Justice), and currently by Samuel Alito.
My fifth half-cousin (five times removed), John Marshall Harlan II, occupied seat 9, the seat previously held by Robert H. Jackson (Chief US Prosecutor at the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg where the surviving Third Reich leadership were tried following the end of World War II) and later by Antonin Scalia, Justice Ginsburg's ideological foe and dear (fellow opera-loving) friend.
While I lived in Alexandria, Virginia (2005-2011), I met an attorney who clerked for the younger Justice Harlan, and offered to share his memories with me. Sadly, I lost his contact information and never made the connection before returning to South Bend. Recently I met a gentleman here in South Bend who wrote a research paper on JMH II and has been searching his archives in an attempt to share it with me. I'm hopeful his search will be successful, as I would welcome an opportunity to learn more about this distant Harlan cousin beyond what I've gleaned from Wikipedia and magazine clippings my paternal grandmother entrusted to me years ago.
