Description | Abraham "Abe" Fortas (June 19, 1910 – April 5, 1982) was a U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice from 1965 to 1969. A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Fortas became a law professor at Yale University, and then an advisor for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Fortas worked at the Department of the Interior under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and during that time President Harry S. Truman appointed him to delegations that helped set up the United Nations in 1945. In 1968 Johnson tried to elevate Fortas to the position of Chief Justice, but that nomination faced a filibuster at least in part due to ethics problems that later caused Fortas to resign from the Court. Fortas returned to private practice, sometimes appearing before the judges with whom he had served, including his successor, Justice Blackmun. Abe Fortas in Wikipedia |