If President Donald Trump nominates federal Judge Thomas Hardiman to the United States Supreme Court, he might feel a little left out during reunion time. Hardiman would be the only current Justice not to attend an ivy league law school.
Hardiman is one of Trump’s finalists along with Judge Neil Gorsuch. The duo were reportedly flown in for the rose-give-away ceremony, I mean, Supreme Court announcement this afternoon. Both have impressive Conservative credentials. But, unlike Gorsuch, who attended Harvard Law School, Hardiman attended Georgetown Law School. All eight Supreme Court justices currently serving either attended Yale Law School or Harvard Law School. Hardiman shouldn’t be too embarrassed, he still attended one of the nation’s top rated schools. Interestingly, the man he may replace, the late Justice Antonin Scalia, attended Georgetown for undergrad, and then went on to graduate Harvard Law School. According to our research, Hardiman would be the first ever to attend Georgetown Law and sit on the United States Supreme Court.
Justices Kennedy, Breyer, Roberts and Kagan all attended Harvard Law School. Thomas, Alito and Sotomayor attended Yale Law School. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (#RBG) attended Harvard Law but she transferred to Columbia Law School where she graduated first in her class.
It’s not clear who Trump will pic. There are reports that indicate it will be Gorsuch. However, Trump’s sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, a fellow 3rd Circuit judge, reportedly recommended Hardiman for the job.
That is not to say all justices in history have attended Yale or Harvard Law. In fact, Justice Robert Jackson sat for the bar without graduating law school. He was only awarded a degree when he became U.S Attorney General in 1941.
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this article said that Jackson did not graduate from Albany Law School. He was in fact awarded a degree many years later when he was attorney general.
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