John Hessin Clarke (1916-1922)
Lived from 1857 to 1945.
Early Life and Legal Career
John H. Clarke was born in New Lisbon, Ohio. He was the third child and only son of John Clarke, a lawyer and judge, and his wife Melissa Hessin. He attended New Lisbon High School and Western Reserve College, from which he was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1877. After studying law under his father’s direction, Clarke went on to pass the bar exam cum laude in 1878.
After practicing law in New Lisbon for two years, Clarke moved to Youngstown. There, he became part owner of the Youngstown Vindicator, a democratic newspaper that he used to promote civil service reform. After unsuccessfully running for the U.S. Senate, Clarke was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio on July 15, 1914 by President Woodrow Wilson. Clarke was an effective judge, and his work was cited as being of the highest quality–with only 5 of 662 suits tried before him reversed.
Appointment to the Supreme Court
Due to a vacancy, President Wilson appointed Clarke to the United States Supreme Court as an Associate Justice in June 1916. During his tenure, Clarke supported the idea of strengthening national and state power in regard to economic regulations. Unfortunately, Clarke’s years on the Court were unhappy ones. During his short time on the bench, Clarke authored 129 majority opinions and 57 dissents. Clarke, who had enjoyed the autonomy of a trial court judge, chafed at the routine of the Supreme Court, hating the arguments, the extended conferences, and the need to accommodate other justices’ views when authoring opinions. Clarke ultimately resigned from his position in 1922.
Death
Clarke died from a heart attack on March 22, 1945. He is buried in the Lisbon Cemetery in Lisbon, Ohio.
