Home > West's Encyclopedia of American Law > Harlan, John Marshall

John Marshall Harlan served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1877 to 1911. Harlan, a native of Kentucky, is best remembered for his dissenting opinions in cases that upheld restrictions on the CIVIL RIGHTS of African Americans, most notably in PLESSY V. FERGUSON, 163 U.S. 537, 16 S. Ct. 1138, 41 L. Ed. 256 (1896). Harlan's dissents served to enlarge his judicial reputation as attitudes and laws changed concerning state-mandated SEGREGATION.

Harlan was born in Boyle County, Kentucky, on June 1, 1833. The son of a prominent lawyer and politician, Harlan graduated from Centre College and then studied law at Transylvania University, both located in Kentucky. He was admitted to the Kentucky bar in...