The Life of Oliver Ellsworth

2005. ISBN-13: 9781584774501; ISBN-10: 1584774509. Brown, William Garrott. The Life of Oliver Ellsworth. Originally published: New York: The Macmillan Company, 1905. 369 pp. Frontispiece. Three plates. Reprinted 2005 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. ISBN-13: 9781584774501; ISBN-10: 1584774509. Hardcover. New. $90. * Reprint of the only edition. As a member of the first United States Senate Ellsworth [1745-1807] supported Alexander Hamilton's policies and was the main author of the Judiciary Act of 1789. He became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1796. During his brief tenure, which ended in 1799 due to poor health, Ellsworth worked to expand the authority of the federal courts and extend common law procedures in appeals to equity and admiralty cases. With limited success he tried to initiate the policy of the Court's handing down per curiam opinions for the entire court rather than seriatim opinions by individual justices. Originally published in 1905, Brown's biography remains the standard account of Ellsworth's life and work.