Associate Justice Potter Stewart Autographs, Memorabilia & Collectibles

Potter Stewart (1915-1985), appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, was Associate Justice from 1958-1981. Stewart often cast the deciding vote on major issues; he was the balance - the "swing" justice - between his conservative and liberal brethren on both the Warren and Burger courts. Always weighing an individual's rights against society's needs, he was a staunch advocate of a defendant's right to counsel. However, Stewart felt that a criminal's rights did not begin upon arrest but upon formal indictment; thus, he dissented in Miranda vs. Arizona (1966), which required police to read a newly arrested suspect his rights before questioning. Stewart supported judicial restraint, was reluctant to place even limited restrictions on the federal government and opposed both the death penalty and censorship. When he retired, Stewart was replaced by Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman Associate Justice (appointed by President Ronald Reagan).