The Friends of Old Ship Meeting House invite you to join us for a special program: “The Supreme Court and Judicial Independence in the Early Republic.” We are honored to welcome as our guest speaker Hingham native Ethan V. Torrey, who serves as the Legal Counsel of the Supreme Court of the United States. Ethan’s presentation will focus on the Supreme Court and judicial independence in the early republic, from the Declaration of Independence to the Chief Justiceship of John Marshall. This will include discussion of the important roles played by early justices from Massachusetts, such as William Cushing of Scituate, one of the original five justices of the Supreme Court, confirmed by the Senate in September 1789. After his death in 1810, Cushing was replaced by Joseph Story of Marblehead, Massachusetts, who served on the court from 1812 to 1845. Both Cushing and Story were educated at Harvard University.
Our speaker, Ethan Torrey provides legal services to the Supreme Court as an institution and supports the justices on a variety of case-related issues. Torrey also teaches a class on the history of the Supreme Court at George Washington University.
