McReynolds, James

▪ American jurist

born Feb. 3, 1862, Elkton, Ky., U.S.

died Aug. 24, 1946, Washington, D.C.

      U.S. Supreme Court justice (1914–41) who was a leading force in striking down the early New Deal program of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

      McReynolds was admitted to the bar in 1884 and practiced law in Nashville, Tenn. He was professor of law at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, prior to his appointment as assistant attorney general (1903–07) in the administration of President Theodore Roosevelt.

      As special counsel to the attorney general (1907–12) and as attorney general (1913–14) under President Woodrow Wilson, McReynolds was distinguished for his vigorous enforcement of the antitrust laws. Thus, he was widely regarded as a liberal when Wilson appointed him to the Supreme Court in 1914. Over the next 27 years, however, he became increasingly conservative and was an outspoken member of the majority that prior to 1937 succeeded in striking down many of the social-reform programs of the New Deal.

* * *