Yes, there were chief justices before Marshall

Cotter’s Corner

By Daniel A. Cotter

Daniel A. Cotter is vice president, general counsel and secretary of Fidelity Life Association and an adjunct professor at The John Marshall Law School, where he teaches SCOTUS Judicial Biographies. He is also president of The Chicago Bar Association. The article is Cotter’s opinion and not to be attributed to Fidelity Life, the CBA or John Marshall.

Posted December 17, 2014 2:43 PM

In the history of the U.S. Supreme Court, there have been 17 chief justices. Many consider John Marshall to be the first, including one of my students who opened a paper by stating he was the first chief. Notwithstanding that Marshall served the longest in that role and that his court’s decisions established the court as the final arbiter of the Constitution and established its powers, three chiefs preceded Marshall.The first The inaugural session of the Supreme Court began Feb. 2, 1790, in the new nation …

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