Edward Terry Sanford

Edward Terry Sanford
Sanford, c. 1905–1930
Edward Terry Sanford
Born	Edward Terry Sanford 23 7, 1865
Birthplace	Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
Died	Template:Death date and age Washington, D.C., U.S.
Occupation	Jurist
Known for	Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States; majority opinion in Gitlow v. New York (1925)
Education	University of Tennessee (BA, BPhil) Harvard University (AB, AM, LLB)

Edward Terry Sanford (July 23, 1865 – March 8, 1930) was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1923 until his death in 1930. Born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee, Sanford built a distinguished legal career that took him from private practice in his home state to the federal bench and ultimately to the nation's highest court. Before his appointment to the Supreme Court by President Warren G. Harding, he served as a United States Assistant Attorney General under President Theodore Roosevelt from 1905 to 1907, gaining national prominence as the lead prosecutor in the landmark trial of Joseph Shipp—the only criminal trial ever conducted by the Supreme Court. Sanford subsequently served as a United States district judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee and the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee from 1908 to 1923. As of January 2026, he remains the last sitting district court judge to be elevated directly to the Supreme Court. Although often overshadowed by more prominent contemporaries on the bench, Sanford's majority opinion in the landmark case Gitlow v. New York (1925), which introduced the incorporation doctrine applying the First Amendment to state governments, proved to be one of the most consequential decisions in American constitutional history.

Early Life

Edward Terry Sanford was born on July 23, 1865, in Knoxville, Tennessee, to Edward J. Sanford and Emma Chavannes Sanford. His father, Edward J. Sanford, was a prosperous businessman in Knoxville, providing the family with financial stability and social prominence in the community. His mother's family included Albert Chavannes, a noted writer and social philosopher, giving young Sanford exposure to intellectual currents beyond the legal profession.

Sanford grew up in Knoxville during the Reconstruction era and the subsequent period of rapid industrialization in the American South. Knoxville, as a growing commercial center in East Tennessee, offered Sanford a childhood shaped by the economic and social transformations occurring in the region following the Civil War. The Sanford family's standing in the community afforded Edward opportunities for education and advancement that would prove instrumental in his later career.

From an early age, Sanford demonstrated intellectual ability and academic ambition. He attended local schools in Knoxville before pursuing higher education at the University of Tennessee, where he began his academic career. His early life in Knoxville established deep roots in the community that he would maintain throughout his career, even after ascending to the federal bench and ultimately the Supreme Court. Sanford was later interred at Greenwood Cemetery in Knoxville, underscoring the enduring connection between the justice and his hometown.

Education

Sanford pursued an extensive academic education that set him apart from many of his legal contemporaries. He first attended the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, where he earned both a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Philosophy degree. Not content with his accomplishments at the state university, Sanford traveled north to attend Harvard University, where he earned an additional Bachelor of Arts degree as well as a Master of Arts degree.

Sanford then enrolled at Harvard Law School, where he completed his Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree. His time at Harvard exposed him to the rigorous legal training that characterized the institution during the late nineteenth century, a period in which Harvard Law School was establishing itself as one of the preeminent legal training grounds in the United States. Sanford's multiple degrees from both the University of Tennessee and Harvard University reflected an uncommon dedication to academic preparation and provided him with a broad intellectual foundation for his subsequent legal career. After completing his legal studies, Sanford returned to Knoxville to begin the practice of law.

Career

Private Practice in Knoxville

Following his graduation from Harvard Law School, Sanford returned to Knoxville, Tennessee, where he entered private legal practice during the 1890s. He practiced law in his hometown through the first years of the twentieth century, establishing a reputation as a capable and diligent attorney. During this period, Sanford became involved in the civic and professional life of Knoxville, building the network of relationships and the professional standing that would later facilitate his entry into federal service.

Sanford's practice in Knoxville covered a range of legal matters typical of a well-connected attorney in a growing Southern city at the turn of the century. His work during this period helped him develop the legal acumen and courtroom experience that would later distinguish his service on the federal bench. His affiliation with the Republican Party—notable in a state where the party had significant support in the eastern part of the state—also positioned him for future federal appointments under Republican administrations.

United States Assistant Attorney General

In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed Sanford to serve as a United States Assistant Attorney General, a position he held until 1907. This appointment brought Sanford to national prominence and placed him at the center of one of the most extraordinary episodes in the history of the United States Supreme Court.

The Trial of Sheriff Joseph Shipp

Sanford's most notable achievement as Assistant Attorney General was his role as lead prosecutor in the trial of Joseph Shipp, the sheriff of Hamilton County, Tennessee. The case arose from the lynching of Ed Johnson, a Black man convicted of rape who was awaiting an appeal before the Supreme Court when a mob removed him from jail and killed him in 1906. Sheriff Shipp, who was charged with contempt of court for failing to protect Johnson from the mob despite a Supreme Court stay of execution, was brought before the high court itself for trial.

The trial of Shipp remains, to date, the only criminal trial ever conducted by the Supreme Court of the United States. Sanford served as the lead prosecutor in the case, presenting the government's argument that Shipp and his co-defendants had willfully defied the authority of the Supreme Court by allowing the lynching to proceed. The case was significant not only for its procedural novelty but also for the questions it raised about the enforcement of federal judicial authority, racial justice, and the rule of law in the post-Reconstruction South.

The Supreme Court ultimately found Shipp guilty of contempt, and the case cemented Sanford's reputation as a skilled and tenacious litigator. His performance in the Shipp trial brought him to the attention of President Roosevelt and other federal officials, contributing directly to his subsequent appointment to the federal bench.

The significance of the Shipp trial has attracted renewed scholarly and public attention in more recent years. Legal scholar Steve Vladeck has noted that the Supreme Court's power to hold individuals in contempt for defying its judgments has been exercised only sparingly in the Court's history, making the Shipp case a singular event in American jurisprudence.

Federal District Judge

On May 18, 1908, Sanford was appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt to serve as a judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, succeeding Charles Dickens Clark. He would later also serve on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. Sanford held this position for nearly fifteen years, from 1908 to 1923, during which time he earned a reputation for careful, methodical jurisprudence and a strong commitment to the enforcement of federal law.

As a federal district judge, Sanford presided over a wide variety of cases during a transformative period in American legal history. His tenure on the district bench coincided with significant developments in federal regulatory law, antitrust enforcement, and the expansion of federal judicial authority. Sanford's opinions during this period reflected a conservative judicial philosophy that emphasized fidelity to statutory text and a respect for established legal principles.

Sanford's long and productive service on the district bench established him as one of the most respected federal judges in the southeastern United States. His reputation for fairness, legal learning, and diligent work habits made him a natural candidate for elevation to a higher court. His appointment to the district court also marked an important milestone: as of January 2026, Sanford remains the last sitting United States district court judge to be elevated directly to the Supreme Court, bypassing the intermediate appellate level.

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court

On January 24, 1923, President Warren G. Harding nominated Sanford to serve as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Mahlon Pitney. Sanford was confirmed by the United States Senate and took his seat on the Court on February 19, 1923. He was succeeded on the Eastern District bench by Xenophon Hicks.

Sanford served on the Supreme Court during the 1920s, a period dominated by the conservative Taft Court under Chief Justice William Howard Taft. Sanford is generally characterized as a conservative justice who frequently voted in alignment with Taft, whom he regarded as a mentor. He favored strict adherence to antitrust laws and tended to support the government's regulatory authority in economic matters, consistent with the broader conservative orientation of the Court during this era.

Despite his reputation as a reliable conservative vote, Sanford's contributions to the Court were often overshadowed by those of his more prominent colleagues, including Taft, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., Louis Brandeis, and Harlan Fiske Stone. The first full-length biography of Sanford, published in 2018, sought to correct this imbalance, arguing that Sanford's contributions to the Court during the 1920s have been underappreciated by legal historians.

Gitlow v. New York (1925)

Sanford's most significant and enduring contribution to American constitutional law was his majority opinion in Gitlow v. New York, decided in 1925. The case involved Benjamin Gitlow, a socialist who had been convicted under New York State's criminal anarchy law for publishing a manifesto advocating the overthrow of the government. Gitlow challenged his conviction on First Amendment grounds, arguing that the state law violated his right to free speech.

In his majority opinion, Sanford upheld Gitlow's conviction, finding that the state had the authority to punish speech that posed a danger to the public welfare. However, in a passage that would prove far more consequential than the outcome of the case itself, Sanford wrote that the protections of the First Amendment—specifically the freedoms of speech and of the press—were among the "fundamental personal rights and 'liberties' protected by the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment from impairment by the States."

This statement, though technically obiter dictum, established the foundation for the incorporation doctrine—the legal principle by which the protections of the Bill of Rights are applied to state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment. Prior to Gitlow, the Bill of Rights had been understood to limit only the actions of the federal government. Sanford's opinion opened the door for subsequent Court decisions to incorporate additional provisions of the Bill of Rights against the states, a process that would accelerate dramatically during the era of the Warren Court in the 1950s and 1960s.

The incorporation doctrine paved the way for many of the Warren Court's landmark decisions expanding civil rights and civil liberties, including cases addressing the rights of criminal defendants, the separation of church and state, and the protection of free expression. Legal scholars have recognized Gitlow as one of the most important decisions in the history of the Supreme Court, and Sanford's opinion as a pivotal moment in the development of American constitutional law.

Other Notable Opinions

Beyond Gitlow, Sanford authored opinions in a number of other cases during his tenure on the Court. He participated in decisions addressing antitrust law, federal regulatory authority, and other issues that came before the Court during the 1920s. However, no other opinion authored by Sanford achieved the lasting significance of his Gitlow decision.

Sanford also participated as part of the majority or in concurrence in a number of decisions that reflected the conservative orientation of the Taft Court. His voting record was consistent with his general approach of deference to legislative authority and strict construction of statutory provisions, particularly in the area of economic regulation and antitrust enforcement.

Personal Life

Edward Terry Sanford maintained strong ties to his hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee, throughout his life. His father, Edward J. Sanford, was a prominent figure in the Knoxville business community, and the family was well established in the civic life of the city. Through his mother, Emma Chavannes, Sanford was related to Albert Chavannes, a writer and social philosopher.

Sanford died suddenly on March 8, 1930, in Washington, D.C. According to accounts, he had set out for a routine visit to his dentist's office on the day of his death. His death came on the same day as that of former Chief Justice William Howard Taft, his longtime mentor and colleague on the Court, a coincidence that attracted considerable public attention at the time. Sanford was buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Knoxville.

Sanford was succeeded on the Supreme Court by Owen Roberts, who was nominated by President Herbert Hoover.

Recognition

Despite his significant contributions to American constitutional law, Sanford has not received the level of recognition afforded to many of his contemporaries on the Supreme Court. The Knoxville News Sentinel has noted that Sanford "rose to the very pinnacle of the American legal system, higher than any Knoxvillian ever," and has called for greater public recognition of his achievements.

In 2018, the first full-length biography of Sanford was published, prompting a discussion on SCOTUSblog about the justice's overlooked contributions. The author noted that Sanford's contributions to the Supreme Court during the 1920s "were overshadowed in life by those of his more famous colleagues," a circumstance that persisted long after his death.

The University of Tennessee has recognized Sanford as one of its notable alumni, acknowledging his role in American legal history and his connection to the university. His papers are held in the special collections of the University of Tennessee Libraries, providing a resource for scholars studying his life and career.

Sanford's role in the Shipp trial has also contributed to his historical reputation, particularly as the case has attracted renewed attention from legal historians and commentators interested in the Supreme Court's contempt power and the history of racial violence in the United States.

Legacy

Edward Terry Sanford's legacy in American law rests primarily on his majority opinion in Gitlow v. New York (1925), which established the foundation for the incorporation doctrine. This doctrine, which holds that the protections of the Bill of Rights apply to state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment, transformed American constitutional law over the course of the twentieth century. By asserting that the freedoms of speech and press were protected against state action, Sanford's opinion opened the door for a dramatic expansion of individual rights that would be carried out by subsequent Courts, most notably the Warren Court of the 1950s and 1960s.

The incorporation doctrine has been described as one of the most significant developments in American constitutional history. It provided the legal basis for landmark decisions in areas including criminal procedure, religious liberty, and freedom of expression. While Sanford himself upheld the conviction at issue in Gitlow and did not advocate for an expansive view of individual rights, the principle he articulated in the opinion took on a life of its own, serving as the foundation for a constitutional revolution that he did not foresee.

Sanford's career also illustrates the significance of the lower federal courts as a training ground for Supreme Court justices. His long service as a district court judge provided him with extensive experience in the practical administration of justice, and his elevation directly from the district bench to the Supreme Court remains a unique achievement in the modern history of the Court.

Despite the importance of his contributions, Sanford remains one of the least well-known justices in the history of the Supreme Court. His tenure was relatively brief—only seven years—and was cut short by his sudden death in 1930. The dominance of more celebrated figures on the Taft Court, including Holmes, Brandeis, and Taft himself, further contributed to the relative obscurity of Sanford's legacy. Nevertheless, the ongoing influence of the incorporation doctrine ensures that Sanford's impact on American law endures, even if his name is not widely recognized outside the legal academy and his hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee.