Philadelphia Courtroom Portraits

Ellis Lewis

Oil Painting on Linen - Undated - Artist Unknown

Orphaned at the age of nine, Lewis worked as a printer at a newspaper founded by his father in Harrisburg. Lewis first became a judge when he was appointed President Judge of the Eighth Judicial District and later the President Judge of the Second Judicial District. After an 1850 constitutional amendment required judges be elected, Lewis was elected to the Supreme Court. That new group of Justices drew straws to determine the length of their term. Justice Ellis drew the second-shortest term at six years, with the final three years served as Chief Justice.

John Bannister Gibson

Oil Painting on Linen - Undated - Artist Unknown

John Bannister Gibson is the Court's longest serving Justice. While he was studying law at Dickinson College, Justice Hugh Brackenridge gave Gibson the use of his private library. First beginning his legal practice in Cumberland County, he was later elected to the Pennsylvania House in 1809 and while serving, represented an enslaved four-year-old boy arguing he should be freed under the Act for Gradual Abolition of Slavery written by George Bryan. The Supreme Court ruled against Gibson and sided with the boy's enslaver.

After Brackenridge's death, in 1816, Governor Simon Snyder appointed Gibson to fill his seat at only 36 years old. He became Chief Justice in 1827 and served in that position until 1851. Pennsylvania amended its Constitution in 1850 to require the election of judges and in the first ever judicial election, Gibson was the only Justice to win their seat back. The Justices drew lots to determine seniority, and he served as an Associate Justice until his death in 1853.

Gibson authored over twelve hundred opinions, but his most famous was his dissent in Eakin v. Raub, 12 Sergeant & Rawle 330 (Pa. 1825), in which he questioned the concept of judicial review and, as rumored, may have cost himself a seat on the United States Supreme Court. In addition to a number of portraits on display, Gibson is also honored with a marble bust in the Philadelphia courtroom.

William Tilghman

Oil Painting on Linen - Undated - Artist Unknown

Tilghman studied law under Chief Justice Benjamin Chew and was initially admitted to practice in Maryland. An elector of President Washington, Tilghman was later nominated by President John Adams to serve as Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He was known as the “midnight judge” because the Senate confirmed him just before midnight when John Adams’s term expired. After that court was abolished, Governor Thomas McKean, himself a former Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, appointed Tilghman as the President Judge of the First Judicial District and later as Chief Justice of Pennsylvania.

Seamus P. McCaffery

Oil Painting on Linen - 2009 - Artist David Larned

The second oldest of seven children, Justice Seamus McCaffery was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to Seamus and Margaret. His father, a professional boxer and a Catholic, worked in a Protestant-owned print shop, where he was attacked by four co-workers. After being fired for “fighting,” Seamus’s parents immigrated to Philadelphia in search of a better life.

After graduating from high school, McCaffery enlisted in the Marine Corps, eventually rising to the rank of Captain. Following his military service, he became a police officer with the Philadelphia Police Department. While serving as an officer, McCaffery also joined the Air Force Reserves, achieving the rank of Colonel. Throughout this time, he pursued higher education, attending LaSalle University and later Temple University School of Law during the evenings.

McCaffery’s dedication to public service continued after his law enforcement career ended. In 1993, he was elected to Philadelphia's Municipal Court. He gained national attention when he established an ad hoc court in the basement of Veterans Stadium, where he issued fines and jail time to unruly Eagles fans.

After becoming the Administrative Judge of Municipal Court, McCaffery was elected to the Superior Court, where he served for four years before being elected to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 2007. He retired from the Court in 2014. In 2024, Justice McCaffery returned to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for a ceremonial session to administer the oath of office to his brother, Justice Daniel D. McCaffery. The McCafferys are the only siblings in the history of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to both serve on the bench.

William I. Schaffer

Oil Painting on Linen - Undated - Artist Unknown

William Schaffer left high school at the age of fifteen and worked various jobs before becoming an assistant in a law office. There he studied law and was later admitted to the Delaware County Bar where he would serve two terms as District Attorney before his appointment to serve as Pennsylvania’s Attorney General. Schaffer was elected to the Supreme Court in 1920 and later became Chief Justice in 1940. One of his notable opinions arose out of an injunction sought by the Attorney General against the Philadelphia Athletics playing baseball games on Sunday. Schaffer found playing on Sunday violated Pennsylvania’s Blue Law of 1794 and prohibited the Athletics from playing on August 22, 1926.

George W. Maxey

Oil Painting on Linen - Undated - Artist Unknown

George Maxey was the first Chief Justice from Lackawanna County and his career path was very much like the second, Chief Justice Eagan. Admitted to the Lackawanna County Bar in 1906, he was elected District Attorney, then as a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas.

Maxey was elected to the Supreme Court in 1930, becoming the Pennsylvania Chief Justice in 1943. He died on March 20, 1950 in the Pittsburgh conference room before calling the first argument of that session and after delivering a eulogy for his colleague, Justice Marion D. Patterson, who died shortly after having a heart attack in the Philadelphia conference room after hearing arguments on January 6.

Maxey's opinions helped shaped labor law and were often times lengthy to the dismay of his successor, Chief Justice James B. Drew, whose opinions rarely exceeded three pages.

Michael J. Eagan

Oil Painting on Linen - Undated - Artist Unknown

Michael J. Eagan, a native of Scranton, served as Lackawanna County DA and later as a court of common pleas judge before becoming an associate Justice of the Supreme Court in 1956. Chief Justice Eagan became Chief Justice in 1977 before retiring early in 1980. In his last “State of the Judiciary” address Eagan implored the legislature to allow the court to choose which appeals to hear with direct appellate jurisdiction over homicides being in the Superior Court.

John C. Bell Jr.

Oil Painting on Linen - Undated - Artist Unknown

Pennsylvania's shortest-serving Governor, John Bell, Jr. graduated from the University of Pennsylvania's Law School in 1917 and was admitted to the Philadelphia Bar that same year. After serving as an Assistant District Attorney in Philadelphia, Bell became the Secretary of Banking, and later was elected Lieutenant Governor in 1942. Bell served as the Lieutenant Governor for four years during which time his older brother, Bert, the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles, began his long tenure as commissioner of the NFL. After Governor Edward Martin was elected to the US Senate, he left a 19-day vacancy in his term which was filled by Bell. While Governor Bell was Pennsylvania’s shortest-serving Governor, he had much more impact on Pennsylvania as a Justice after his appointment in 1950.

Bell became Chief Justice in 1961 and was a frequent critic lenient sentences and the expansion of defendants' rights. Upon his retirement in 1972, controversially, he worked as a paid consultant to Philadelphia's District Attorney, Arlen Specter.

Benjamin R. Jones Jr.

Oil Painting on Linen - Undated - Artist Unknown

Chief Justice Jones served in the Luzerne County DA’s office before serving in the Navy during World War II. After the war, Jones was elected to the Court of Common Pleas where he served in the Orphan’s Court division, before being elected to the Supreme Court in 1956. Jones became Chief Justice in 1972 and was sworn in at the Luzerne County courthouse, becoming the first Chief Justice sworn in at their home county’s courthouse in 250 years.

Robert N.C. Nix Jr.

Oil Painting on Linen - 1998 - Richard Perez

Chief Justice Nix’s grandfather was born into slavery before becoming an academic dean of South Carolina State College at Orangeburg. Nix’s father was Pennsylvania’s first African American congressman and served for twenty years. Chief Justice Nix was the valedictorian of Villanova University and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. After developing a reputation for protecting civil rights as a lawyer in Philadelphia, he was elected to the Court of Common Pleas. He was later elected to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court becoming the first African American elected to a statewide office in Pennsylvania. Nix became Chief Justice in 1984, again making history as the first African American state Chief Justice in American history. He served as Pennsylvania's Chief Justice until his retirement in 1996.

Ronald D. Castille

Oil Painting on Linen - 2015 - Irene Nunn

After graduating from Auburn University, Chief Justice Castille was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps represented by the saber to his right. He served in Vietnam as a platoon commander when, in 1967, they were ambushed by a Viet Cong battalion. Castille was seriously wounded and carried to safety by a member of his platoon, Angel Mendez. He ultimately lost his leg and was awarded a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts for his service. He poses with his swiss crutches, or as he’d call them, his medals. A native of Louisiana, Castille recuperated in South Philadelphia, and later attended Law School at the University of Virginia – in his portrait, he wears a blue and orange striped tie representing Auburn and Virginia. Castille returned to Philadelphia where he served as the District Attorney and he was elected to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in 1993. He became Chief Justice in 2008 and served until his retirement in 2014.

George W. Woodward

Oil Painting on Linen - Undated - Artist Unknown

Chief Justice Woodward began his public service as the President Judge of the Fourth District in the center of the state. President Polk nominated Woodward to the US Supreme Court, however he was unable to obtain confirmation from the Senate. After his failed nomination, Woodward was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 1852. In 1867, Chief Justice Woodward wrote his most important decision in an appeal from the order from his fellow Justice, William Strong, that prevented railroad cars from running on Sunday. Influenced by his extensive travels in Europe, Woodward reversed Strong finding cheap travel to the countryside was a blessing for the working class. After his time on the Court, Woodward would find himself in the US House and Strong was later appointed, and confirmed, to the US Supreme Court.

Ulysses Mercur

Oil Painting on Linen - Undated - Artist Unknown

A native of Bradford County, Mercur studied law under Judge William McKennan and was admitted to practice in 1843. Mercur’s legal prowess led to his appointment as the President Judge of the Thirteenth Judicial District in 1861, the same year he voted for Abraham Lincoln at the 1861 electoral college. After only serving as judge for three years, his friends convinced him to run for Congress in 1864 where he served nearly four terms before resigning to take his seat on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court after being elected in 1872.

Mercur became Chief Justice in 1883 and he died in office in 1887. Several Justices served as pall bearers at his funeral and the Supreme Court courtroom was draped in black for three months.

Henry Green

Oil Painting on Linen - Undated - Artist Unknown

Chief Justice Henry Green was born in New Jersey and studied at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania. He began his career after being admitted to the Northampton County Bar and built a lucrative practice in Easton. He was appointed directly from the bar to the Supreme Court in 1879, becoming only the second Justice to serve without any prior judicial experience. Green became Chief Justice in 1900, but only served in that position for a few months before his unexpected death at an Atlantic City Hotel in August.

J. Brewster McCollum

Oil Painting on Linen - Undated - Artist Unknown

J. Brewster McCollum studied law in New York state, before being admitted to the Susquehanna County bar. He was elected the President Judge of that county in 1878 and after his ten-year term, declined to run for re-election after the opposing party nominated his brother-in-law to vie for his seat. The Republican party nominated James Mitchell and the Democrats nominated McCollum. Before the election, Justice John Trunkey died leaving two vacancies on the court and, due to a law preventing the voters from selecting more than one Justice, both Mitchell and McCollum guaranteed a seat. After drawing lots, McCollum gained seniority and became Chief Justice in 1903. He served as Pennsylvania's Chief Justice for just a few months before dying in office in October.

James T. Mitchell

Oil Painting on Linen - Undated - Artist Unknown

Mitchell attended Harvard and later studied law under a prominent Philadelphia lawyer, George W. Biddle, before being admitted to the Philadelphia bar in 1857. Mitchell was elected as a judge in Philadelphia county in 1871 and later a Justice in 1888. At the first argument after Mitchell’s early retirement in 1909, Chief Justice Fell announced the Court’s decision to appoint Mitchell as its prothonotary – a position he served in until his death five years later.

David Newlin Fell

Oil Painting on Linen - Undated - Artist Unknown

David Newlin Fell was a veteran of the Civil War serving with the Pennsylvania Volunteers and, after the war, he later studied the law with his brother, William. He was admitted to the Philadelphia Bar in 1866 and entered private practice before being elected to the Court of Common Pleas. Fell was elected to the Supreme Court in 1893 before becoming Chief Justice in 1910. During his time as a judge, Justice and Chief Justice, Fell took part in over 45,000 cases

Robert von Moschzisker

Oil Painting on Linen - Undated - Artist Unknown

Orphaned at 11, von Moschzisker learned the law while an office boy for a prominent Philadelphia lawyer, Edward Shippen before being admitted to the bar at the age of 26. Elected to the Court of Common Pleas in 1903 and six years later to the Supreme Court at 39 years old. He became Chief Justice in 1921 and served until his resignation in 1930. He returned to private practice and died in 1939. During his career on Pennsylvania's Supreme Court, von Moschisker authored 1,370 opinions and as he remarked on the occasion of his retirement, "I have tried not to let the law stand still. I have tried to keep it apace with the times.