Editing Stanley Matthews (judge) (section)

==Associate justice==
Matthews was initially [[Nomination and confirmation to the Supreme Court of the United States|nominated]] an [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States|associate justice]] of the [[United States Supreme Court]] on January 26, 1881, by President Hayes<ref name=USSSCN>{{Cite web| url=https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/nominations/Nominations.htm| title=U.S. Senate: Supreme Court Nominations: 1789–Present| website=senate.gov| publisher=U.S. Senate| location=Washington, D.C.| access-date=June 29, 2019| archive-date=December 9, 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201209085119/https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/nominations/Nominations.htm| url-status=live}}</ref> in the last weeks of [[Presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes|Hayes's presidency]]. The nomination ran into opposition in the [[U.S. Senate]] because of Matthews's close ties to railroad interests and due to his close long-term friendship with Hayes. Consequently, the [[United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|Judiciary Committee]] took no action on the nomination during the remainder of the [[46th United States Congress|46th Congress]].<ref name=SG10062018CD>{{cite web| last=Gilbert| first=Sheldon| title=A look at the closest Court confirmation ever| date=October 6, 2018| work=Constitution Daily| url=https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/a-look-at-the-closest-court-confirmation-ever| publisher=National Constitution Center| location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania| access-date=June 29, 2019| archive-date=May 28, 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190528074843/https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/a-look-at-the-closest-court-confirmation-ever| url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=RL31171>{{cite web| last=Hogue| first=Henry H.| title=Supreme Court Nominations Not Confirmed, 1789-August 2010| url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL31171.pdf| work=CRS Report for Congress (RL31171)| date=August 20, 2010| publisher=Congressional Research Service| location=Washington, D.C.| access-date=June 29, 2019| archive-date=February 6, 2006| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060206235643/https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL31171.pdf| url-status=live}}</ref>

On March 14, 1881, 10 days after [[Inauguration of James A. Garfield|taking office]], President [[James A. Garfield]] re-nominated Matthews to the Court.<ref name=USSSCN/> Though a new nomination from a new president, earlier concerns about Matthews's suitability for the Court persisted, and Garfield was widely criticized for re-submitting Matthews's name.<ref name=SG10062018CD/> In spite of the opposition, and, although the Judiciary Committee made a recommendation to the Senate that it reject the nomination,<ref name=RL33225>{{cite web| title=Supreme Court Nominations, 1789 to 2017: Actions by the Senate, the Judiciary Committee, and the President| last1=McMillion| first1=Barry J.| last2=Rutkus| first2=Denis Steven| url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL33225.pdf| date=July 6, 2018| work=CRS Report for Congress (RL33225)| publisher=Congressional Research Service| location=Washington, D.C.| access-date=June 29, 2019| archive-date=August 9, 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190809152918/https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL33225.pdf| url-status=live}}</ref> on May 12, the Senate voted 24–23 to confirm Matthews. The vote was the closest for any successful Supreme Court nominee in U.S. Senate history;{{efn|In ''percentage'' terms, the 50–48 vote in 2018 confirming [[Brett Kavanaugh]] was slightly closer than Matthews's. Matthews received 51.06% of the vote to Kavanaugh's 51.02%.<ref>{{cite news| title=Senate vote on Kavanaugh was historically close| last=Keller| first=Chris| date=October 6, 2018| url=https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-pol-scotus-confirmation-votes-over-the-years-20181005-htmlstory.html| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| access-date=April 1, 2022}}</ref>}} no other justice has been confirmed by a single vote.<ref name=USSSCN/><ref name=RL31171/><ref name=WaPo10082018KP>{{cite news| last=Phillips| first=Kristine| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2018/10/08/moral-dry-rot-only-supreme-court-justice-who-divided-senate-more-than-kavanaugh/?| title='Moral dry-rot': The only Supreme Court justice who divided the Senate more than Kavanaugh| date=October 8, 2018| newspaper=The Washington Post| access-date=June 29, 2019| archive-date=May 28, 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190528074844/https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2018/10/08/moral-dry-rot-only-supreme-court-justice-who-divided-senate-more-than-kavanaugh/| url-status=live}}</ref>

Matthews's tenure as a member of the Supreme Court began on May 17, 1881, when he took the judicial oath, and ended March 22, 1889, upon his death.<ref name=SCjustices/><ref name=SCHSSM/> He was regarded as one of the more [[Progressivism in the United States|progressive]] justices on the Court at the time.<ref name=WaPo10082018KP/>