Benjamin N. Cardozo

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Benjamin N. Cardozo bigraphy, stories - United States federal judge

Benjamin N. Cardozo : biography

May 24, 1870 – July 9, 1938

Benjamin Nathan Cardozo (May 24, 1870 – July 9, 1938) was an American jurist who served on the New York Court of Appeals and later as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. Cardozo is remembered for his significant influence on the development of American common law in the 20th century, in addition to his modesty, philosophy, and vivid prose style. Cardozo served on the Supreme Court only six years, from 1932 until his death in 1938, and many of his landmark decisions were delivered during his eighteen-year tenure on the New York Court of Appeals, the highest court of that state.

Notes

In his own words

Cardozo’s opinion of himself shows some of the same flair as his legal opinions: In truth, I am nothing but a plodding mediocrity—please observe, a plodding mediocrity—for a mere mediocrity does not go very far, but a plodding one gets quite a distance. There is joy in that success, and a distinction can come from courage, fidelity and industry. As quoted in Nine Old Men (1936) by Drew Pearson and Robert Sharon Allen, p. 221.

The question of Cardozo’s ethnicity

Cardozo was the second Jewish person, after Louis Brandeis, to be appointed to the Supreme Court.

Since Cardozo was a member of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish community, there has been recent discussion as to whether he should be considered the ‘first Hispanic justice,’ a notion which is controversial.

In response to this controversy, Cardozo biographer Kaufman questioned the usage of the term "Hispanic" in the justice’s lifetime, stating: "Well, I think he regarded himself as a Sephardic Jew whose ancestors came from the Iberian Peninsula.”

It has also been asserted that Cardozo himself "confessed in 1937 that his family preserved neither the Spanish language nor Iberian cultural traditions".Aviva Ben-Ur, Sephardic Jews in America: A Diasporic History (New York: New York University Press, 2009), p. 86. Some advocacy groups, such as the National Association of Latino Elected Officials and the Hispanic National Bar Association consider Sonia Sotomayor to be the first Hispanic justice.

Cases

New York Courts
  • Schloendorff v. Society of New York Hospital, 105 N.E. 92 (1914) it is necessary to get informed consent from a patient before operation, but a non-profit hospital was not vicariously liable (the latter aspect was reversed in 1957)
  • MacPherson v. Buick Motor Co., 111 N.E. 1050 (1916) ending privity as a source of duty in products liability, ruling that manufacturers of products could be held liable for injuries to consumers.
  • DeCicco v. Schweizer, 117 N.E. 807 (1917) where Cardozo approached the issue of third party beneficiary law in a contract for marriage case.
  • Wood v. Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon, 118 N.E. 214 (1917) on a promise to maybe do something constituting consideration in a contract.
  • Martin v. Herzog, 126 N.E. 814 (1920) breach of statutory duty establishes negligence, and the elements of the claim includes proof of causation
  • Jacob & Youngs v. Kent, 230 N.Y. 239 (1921), substantial performance of a contract does not lead to a right to terminate, only damages.
  • Hynes v. New York Central Railroad Company, 131 N.E. 898 (1921), a railway owed a duty of care despite the victims being trespassers.
  • Berkey v. Third Avenue Railway, 244 N.Y. 84 (1926), the corporate veil cannot be pierced, even in favor of a tort victim unless domination of a subsidiary by the parent is complete.
  • Wagner v. International Railway, 232 N.Y. 176 (1926) the rescue doctrine. "Danger invites rescue. The cry of distress is the summons to relief […] The emergency begets the man. The wrongdoer may not have foreseen the coming of a deliverer. He is accountable as if he had."
  • Meinhard v. Salmon, 164 N.E. 545 (1928) the fiduciary duty of business partners is, "Not honesty alone, but the punctilio of an honor the most sensitive."
  • Palsgraf v. Long Island Rail Road Co., 162 N.E. 99 (1928) the development of the concept of the proximate cause in tort law.
  • Murphy v. Steeplechase Amusement Park, 166 N.E. 173 (1929) denied a right to recover for knee injury from riding "The Flopper" funride since the victim "assumed the risk."
  • Ultramares v. Touche, 174 N.E. 441 (1931) on the limitation of liability of auditors