John Jay – First Supreme Court Justice – President of Bible Society
Via American Minute:
The first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court was the president
of the American Bible Society. 
Who was he?
John Jay, who died MAY 17, 1829.
A member of the Continental Congress, even serving as its president, John Jay signed the Treaty of Paris with Franklin and Adams, ending the Revolutionary War.
Jay helped ratify the Constitution by writing the Federalist Papers with Madison and Hamilton.
In 1777, John Jay told an Ulster County Grand Jury:
“The Americans are the first people whom Heaven has favoured with an opportunity of…choosing the forms of government under which they should live.”
To the New York Convention, December 23, 1776, John Jay said:
“When you have done all things, then rely upon the good Providence of Almighty God for success, in full confidence that without his blessings, all our efforts will inevitably fail.”
Jay continued:
“The Holy Gospels are yet to be preached to these western regions, and we have the highest reason to believe that the Almighty will not suffer slavery and the gospel to go hand in hand. It cannot, it will not be.”
On May 17, 1829, as he was dying, John Jay was asked if he had any last words for his children.
He replied: “They have the Book.”
Houston Judges Receive Bibles
Houston Judges Pose with Retired Judge Darrell White and Jason Stern as they receive their Court Bibles on May 1st, 2010
The Houston Chapter of Concerned Women for America invited American Judicial Alliance to speak to their gathering on Saturday, May 1st, so the team traveled overnight Friday to make the 9 am meeting.
Retired Judge Darrell White shared the vision and dedicated seven Court Bibles. Two previous recipients of Houston-area Court Bibles also joined us to support the event!
Incidentally, May 1st is the inscription on all Bibles dedicated by this organization. May 1st is celebrated as “Law Day,” and creates a perfect reminder of why we remember the source of Law.
A good time was had by all. Thank you CWFA for the wonderful meeting!
American Judicial Alliance Presents Bibles to 28 North Louisiana Courts
Retired Judge Darrell White presents the Ruston City Court Bible to Judge Danny Tatum
Choudrant, La. – On Friday, March 12, 2010, American Judicial Alliance, a national organization based in Louisiana, dedicated twenty-eight bibles to north Louisiana courts at Squire Creek Country Club in Choudrant, Louisiana.
The Bibles are dedicated in replication of a tradition held by the United States Supreme Court for over one hundred years. One of America’s most interesting justices, John Marshall Harlan (I) began the tradition by donating his personal Bible to the court. Since that time, every Supreme Court Justice has signed the “Harlan” Bible.
Friday night’s dinner featured a keynote by nationally-known historian and author, William J. Federer, whose books include “America’s God and Country,” “What Every American Needs to Know about the Qur’an” and “The Original 13: a Documentary History of Religion in America’s first Thirteen States.”
American Judicial Alliance (AJA) and its associated organization, Retired Judges of America (RJA) are led by Retired Judge Darrell White and Jason Stern. Both men share a vision for “awakening the conscience of One Nation Under God” and for restoring the importance of both the Bible and the Constitution to American jurisprudence.
Judge John Slattery of Springhill City Court said, “We are so grateful to receive this Bible into our court. The Framers knew what they were doing when they established this nation. It’s our duty to continue that vision.”
“American Judicial Alliance intends to place a Bible in every courtroom in America and to ask active and retired judges all across America to join the “Harlan tradition” of signing the Bible and utilizing them in their courts,” said Retired Judge Darrell White.
American Judicial Alliance is based in Baton Rouge, La. and has so far dedicated approximately 100 Bibles to courts across the South including the Supreme Courts of Louisiana and Texas.
Supreme Court Interested In “Harlan Bible” Analysis
Retired Judge Darrell White has received several acknowledgment letters from active United States Supreme Court Justices complimentary of his analysis of the history associated with the venerable tradition of the Harlan Bible.
You can read the full article, “Historical Significance of a Kentucky Colonel Named Harlan,” as published in the Baton Rouge Bar Journal by clicking here.
Here are a few of these interesting letters:
Click to read Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Letter
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Click to read Clarence Thomas Letter
Clarence Thomas Letter
Click to read Samuel Alito’s Letter
Samuel Alito Letter
Staff News!
American Judicial Alliance welcomes longtime partner Jason Stern as our new vice president!
Now working fulltime at AJA, Jason is developing new approaches to our communications presence and helping to develop donor relations. His wise leadership and increased involvement will multiply our effectiveness as an organization as we engage courts throughout the nation. In addition, new interns, including a few young attorneys, are joining us as our team continues to expand.
It is thrilling to watch God equipping American Judicial Alliance for an active year!
Justice Thomas and the Constitution
“If [a law] is wrong, the ultimate precedent is the Constitution. It’s not what we say it is, it’s what it actually says. And I think we have to be humble enough to say ‘we were wrong.'”
— Justice Clarence Thomas, February 2009
Thomas was responding to a question about the Court’s review of the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Law. His quote echoes former Justice Felix Frankfurter (who happened to have been the president of the ACLU before his court days). Here is Frankfurter’s quote:
“The ultimate touchstone of constitutionality is the Constitution, and not what we have said about it.” — Felix Frankfurter, Graves v. New York, 306 US 466 (1939)
Here is an audio clip of Justice Thomas’ remarks:
Here are a few more quotes to chew on:
“[I]n the lapse of [time], changes have taken place which in particular passages … obscure the sense of the original … [and] present wrong signification or false ideas. Whenever words are understood in a sense different from that which they had when introduced …. mistakes may be very injurious.” Noah Webster in Preface of the Webster Bible
“Though written constitutions may be violated in moments of passion or delusion, they furnish a text to which those who are watchful may again rally.” — Thomas Jefferson
“On every question of construction (of the Constitution) let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed.” — Thomas Jefferson, letter to William Johnson, June 12, 1823, The Complete Jefferson, p322.
“The first and fundamental rule in the interpretation of all instruments is, to construe them according to the sense of the terms, and the intentions of the parties.” Justice Joseph Story, III Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States §400 (1883) at p383
23rd Judicial Bible Dedication Coming Soon!
Join us at Frank’s Restaurant in Prarieville next Thursday, February 4th at 8:00 AM as we dedicate a commemorative Bible to the Louisiana 23rd Judicial District Court.
Please RSVP by contacting Retired Judge Darrell White or Jason Stern at the office or by emailing us through the website. Breakfast will be served.
The Pursuit of Happiness
Via Voddie Baucham Ministries:
Ever wonder what the phrase the “Pursuit of Happiness” meant in the U.S. Constitution? Well here’s a hint from the Massachusetts Constitution. Remember, John and Samual Adams were two of the three framers. Hence, what they did in Massachusetts in 1780 gives us real insight into what the framers meant in 1776:
“Art. III. As the happiness of a people and the good order and preservation of civil government essentially depend upon piety, religion, and morality, and as these cannot be generally diffused through a community but by the institution of the public worship of God and of the public instructions in piety, religion, and morality: Therefore, To … See Morepromote their happiness and to secure the good order and preservation of their government, the people of this commonwealth have a right to invest their legislature with power to authorize and require, and the legislature shall, from time to time, authorize and require, the several towns, parishes, precincts, and other bodies-politic or religious societies to make suitable provision, at their own expense, for the institution of the public worship of God and for the support and maintenance of public Protestant teachers of piety, religion, and morality in all cases where such provision shall not be made voluntarily.”
Religious Freedom in the New Millennia?
This is an interesting synopsis from Ray Comfort’s Blog today. The federal courts have played a strong role in shaping American culture in the 20th century via its decisions:
“There was a time in U.S. history when American school children began each day with public prayer. The entire class prayed together. That is now “illegal.” This is why:
• The Supreme Court first ruled against public school prayer in the 1962 case of Engle v. Vitale. The decision struck down a New York State law that required public schools to begin the school day either with Bible reading or recitation of a specially-written, nondenominational prayer.
• One year later, in Abington vs. Shempp (1963), the Supreme Court struck down voluntary Bible readings and recitation of the Lord’s Prayer in public schools.
1. In this context, our kids can no longer pray in public. There have been many ensuing court cases over the liberty to engage in public prayer:
“U.S. Supreme Court rules, 6-3, that prayer before football games in Texas is unconstitutional,”
https://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=12727
“School Faces Big Legal Fees In Prayer Lawsuit.”
https://paganwiccan.about.com/b/2009/06/23/school-faces-big-legal-fees-in-prayer-lawsuit.htm
“Florida school officials in prayer case could get jail time.”
https://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/09/17/florida.school.prayer/index.html?iref=newssearch
“School district faces second lawsuit over prayer”
https://www.srpressgazette.com/articles/school-9300-district-second.html
2. There have been multiple court cases against students who have or open Bibles:
“Lawsuit claims students not allowed to carry Bibles” https://www.adherents.com/misc/school_houston.html
“Bible study banned on playgrounds”
https://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44223
“Gideons Forbidden From Distributing Bibles at School”
https://www.moonbattery.com/archives/2007/08/gideons_forbidd.html
“Bibles Banned in Bible Belt”
https://www.foxnewsradio.com/2010/01/06/bibles-banned-in-bible-belt/#ixzz0de1D4mmO
“Bible Banned From School Football Field”
https://news.aol.com/article/bible-verses-banned-from-lakeview-fort/700655
“High School Cheerleaders Banned From Using Bible Verses”
https://digg.com/world_news/High_School_Cheerleaders_Banned_From_Using_Bible_Verses
“The Bible Banned at a New Jersey School” https://smartgirlpolitics.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bible-banned-at-a-new
“Bibles banned at Stigler Oklahoma library”
https://www.stormfront.org/forum/showthread.php?t=635514
3. Display the Ten Commandments in a public place, and you could end up in court.
“U.S. Government bans Ten Commandments from Public Places”
https://theratzingerforum.yuku.com/topic/1011/t/U-S-Government-bans-Ten-Commandments-from-Public-Places.html
“Ten Commandments monument moved. New poll says Americans disapprove of federal court order.”
https://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/08/27/ten.commandments/
“Ninth Circuit Sued For Displaying Ten Commandments”
https://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102×1222468
“Chief Justice Roy Moore removed for acknowledging God–Ten Commandments Inquisition” (link no longer accessible)
American Judicial Alliance is asking judges to return to their Oaths to protect and defend the Constitution as the Supreme Law of the Land.