Reply #14: Fortas was a Sup Ct Justice for 3 years before being nominated as CJ

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Fortas as an attorney in private practice with no experience as a judge when he was first appointed to the Supreme Court (as a replacement for Arthur Goldberg,who resigned from the court to become ambassador to the UN!). LBJ nominated Fortas to become CJ when Earl Warren decided to retire. But Fortas' nomination became embroiled in a "scandal" over accepting $$ for some speaking enagagements and he withdrew his name from consideration. Nixon was then elected and he got to fill the Earl Warren vacancy by naming Warren Burger as CJ. Then additional questions were raised about Fortas' financial dealings and he resigned, opening a vacancy that Nixon filled with Harry Blackmun. For whatever its worth, both Blackmun and Burger were experienced Appellate Court judges before being named to the Supremes.

By the way, William O. Douglas, one of the greatest Supreme Court Justices, was never a judge either. He was a 41 year old SEC Commissioner (and former Yale professor). He ended serving on the Court for 36 years, retiring after suffering a stroke in the mid-1970s. One other tidbit -- Gerald Ford tried unsuccessfully to have Douglas impeached.

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