Rufus Wheeler Peckham (1896-1909)
Rufus W. Peckham lived from 1838 to 1909.
Early Life and Legal Career
Peckham was born in Albany, New York to Rufus Wheeler Peckham and Isabella Adeline; his mother died when he was only nine. After graduating from the Albany Academy, Peckham studied law under his father. He was admitted to the bar in 1859.
Following ten years in private practice, Peckham served as Albany’s district attorney from 1869 to 1872. He then returned to private practice, serving as counsel to the City of Albany until being elected as a trial judge on the New York Supreme Court in 1883. Shortly thereafter, in 1886, Peckham was elected to the New York Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court. Peckham was also active in local Democratic politics, serving as New York’s delegate to the 1876 Democratic National Convention.
Appointment to the Supreme Court
In 1896, Peckham was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Grover Cleveland. His most famous opinion was in Lochner v. New York. There, the Court invalidated a limitation on bakers’ working hours to sixty per week as being contrary to the individual right to freely contract, and as being unnecessary to protect health or safety. In the same opinion, Peckham upheld other workplace regulations relating to baker’s facilities that he did not believe justified limitations on the freedom of contract.
Aside from Lochner, Peckham is known for his expansive interpretation of the Sherman antitrust law, in which he aimed to protect consumer welfare. Peckham also authored the revolutionary decision in Ex parte Young, which held that a federal court may issue an injunction against a State officer to prevent the enforcement of an invalid State law.
Death
Peckham served on the Court until his death on October 24, 1909 at age 70. He was buried in Albany Rural Cemetery in Menands, New York.
Notable Cases
Lochner v. New York (1905)
Ex parte Young (1908)
