Home > West's Encyclopedia of American Law > Van Devanter, Willis

As an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1910 to 1937, Willis Van Devanter was considered the leading conservative justice of the era. Van Devanter's background in education, politics, and the law brought him to the bench, first as chief justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court and then as a U.S. circuit judge. In his twenty-six years on the U.S. Supreme Court, he consistently opposed the expansion of government power. His opposition was fiercest during the administration of President FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, when he joined three other conservative justices of the Supreme Court in fighting Roosevelt's legislative program, the NEW DEAL. Their like-minded opinions, which earned them the nickname the "Four Horsemen," led to a sharp confrontation with the president.

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