Home > West's Encyclopedia of American Law > Day, William Rufus

William Rufus Day served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1903 to 1922. Day served on a Court dominated by Justice OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES JR., yet Day played a key role during a period when the federal government began to extend its police and regulatory powers.

Day was born April 17, 1849, in Ravenna, Ohio. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1870 and attended its law school for one year. He was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1872 and entered practice in Canton, Ohio.

Ohio was a hotbed of REPUBLICAN PARTY politics in the late nineteenth century. Day became active in the party and, more important, became a trusted friend and adviser to WILLIAM MCKINLEY, who was elected president in 1896. McKinley appointed Day