American Decades

Important Events in Law and Justice, 1930–1939

On February 3, President Herbert Hoover nominates Charles Evans Hughes to become the new chief justice for the U.S. Supreme Court. Hughes is nominated to replace William Howard Taft, who has left the bench due to failing health. Hughes, a former associate justice, had resigned his position in 1916 to run for the presidency.
On February 10, massive crackdowns for Volstead Act violations take place in Chicago.
On February 13, following a fierce debate in the Senate, the appointment of Charles Evans Hughes as chief justice is confirmed.
On March 8, William Howard Taft, twenty-seventh president of the United States and retired chief justice of the Supreme Court, dies.
On March 13, the trial of Edward Doheny begins in Washington, D.C. Doheny is accused of bribing former Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall to obtain leases for the Elk Hills naval oil reserve.
On April 21, a...

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