George Sutherland was born in England but raised in Utah where
he later practiced law and acheived a measure of Republican
political prominence. He served in the U.S. House of
Representatives and in the Senate. Sutherland was a confidant of
Warren Harding when he ran for the presidency. Harding later
nominated him to the Supreme Court. While in private practice,
Sutherland articulated a fundamentally conservative position on
the role of government. His vision did not change on the Court.
Sutherland offered his vote and voice in support of substantive
due process and other judicial barriers to state
governmentregulation and control. Much of this approach was
rejected by subsequent Courts. Sutherland was not a cipher,
however. He left his mark on other domains including the law of
"standing" and the constitutional constraints governing foreign
relations. Sutherland also forged an important link in the
nationalization of the Bill of Rights by articulating the steps
states must take to assure the right to counsel