Existing comment:
When Justice James Iredell failed to reach the Delaware Circuit Court on time in 1793 the National Gazette of Philadelphia ran this article:
"... near one hundred... citizens, were summoned to attend the federal circuit court of New-Castle, ... a quorum of judges did not appear to hold a court. The citizens that were summoned from their various occupations waited... then returned home. Many of them rode a considerable distance, and as no court was called... they were not paid for their attendance; their loss of time was of much more consequence than any thing they could have expected, but the insult offered to their feelings was felt by every one. Mr. Iredell, who was to have attended, certainly can have no proper excuse... Most people know that these gentlemen get very handsome salaries; and they know also from the sweat of whose brows it comes; ... they know whose right it is to call them to account for their malpractices..."
Such criticism plus the rigors of circuit travel made appointments to the Supreme Court unattractive to the caliber of lawyer that George Washington sought for the Court. In fact, from September of 1789 to March of 1796, George Washington made fourteen appointments to the Court. For almost one-third of the Washington administration, the Court was not fully staffed, having less than the six Justices the law required.
Despite the difficulties and the sacrifices the early years of circuit riding established an acceptance of the new federal judiciary system and an understanding of how it worked. Rulings handed down by the Court, wile not always popular, gained acceptance and dissenters pursued their complaints through legal or governmental processes. The early justices served their nation well in convincing its citizens that the colonial quest for order and individual liberties could safely be moved to a national forum. |