Who was the President to last argue a case before the US Supreme Court?

Answer 1

Richard Milhouse Nixon, 37th President of the United States (1969-1974), was the most recent past or future President to argue before the US Supreme Court. Nixon was in private legal practice in the years between his 1960 Presidential election loss to John F. Kennedy and his successful bid for the Presidency in 1968. During that time, he represented the respondent, James Hill, in the reargument of Time, Inc. v. Hill, 385 US 374 (1967).

The first amendment case resulted from a 1953 Life Magazine article about a book and play partially inspired by an actual event in which three escaped convicts held James Hill, his wife and five children hostage in their own home. The family was released unharmed 19 hours later, and the episode was widely reported in the press. Joseph Hays subsequently wrote a novel, The Depesperate Hours, about a fictional family of four who were held hostage in their home; however, the Hays' novel and play contained violence, whereas the Hills' experience had been nonviolent.

In interviews promoting his book, Hays said the fictionalized account was constructed from a combination of several real-life kidnappings, and was not intended to represent any particular event or family. He also stated the inspiration for writing the book arose from the Hills' experience.

Life Magazine wrote an article about a play adaptation of The Desperate Hours, which was to premier in Philadelphia, a city near the Hills' former home. Through a series of editorial missteps, the Life article mistakenly claimed the play was based on the Hills' ordeal.

James Hill and his wife sued Time, Inc., Life's parent company, for deliberate misrepresentation and unauthorized use of the family's name to advance advertising objectives and increase the magazine's circulation, which violated a New York statute (where Time, Inc. was headquartered) restricting First Amendment protection. The family claimed Life knew Joseph Hays' work was fictional and sensationalized, but nevertheless published an article presenting the material as fact. Time, Inc. acknowledged that the article was in error, but claimed that the mistake was honest, not calculated. The lower courts awarded the Hills damages, and Time, Inc. appealed the decision.

The question before the Court involved the scope of liability and First Amendment protections involving freedom of the press arising from the article. In a 5-4 decision, the Warren Court reversed the lower court ruling, finding no cause of action against the magazine or its publisher.

Although Hill, who was represented by Richard Nixon, lost the Supreme Court case, Justice Brennan later remarked that Nixon was an excellent advocate for his clients.


Presidents who argued before the US Supreme Court

John Quincy Adams
James Polk
Abraham Lincoln (Lewis v. Lewis, 48 US 776)
James Garfield
Grover Cleveland
William Howard Taft
Richard Nixon