below to enlarge
The U.S. Supreme Court first sat in New York City in 1790 in the Royal Exchange Building, shown below with first Chief Justice, John Jay. [ Continued ]
REFERENCES: Royal Exchange Building on Corbis.com, Royal Exchange Building
REFERENCES: Royal Exchange Building on Corbis.com, Royal Exchange Building
"When, on February 2, 1790, the Supreme Court met in its first public session in the Royal Exchange, at the foot of Broad Street in New York City, the Justices did not wear wigs. But they were elegantly attired in black and red robes, 'the elegance, gravity and neatness of which were the subject of remark and approbation with every spectator.' The elegance of the Justices' attire could, however, scarcely serve to conceal the relative ineffectiveness of the first Supreme Court, as least by comparison with what the tribunal was later to become. * * * During that session and the next two terms, there were no cases docketed for argument and the Justices had little to do."[ Quote from: Bernard Schwartz, A History of the Supreme Court, pp. 15 - 16, 18 ( Oxford University Press 1995 ) ]
[ Image from: Heather Moehn, The U.S. Constitution, p. 81 ( Rosen Publishing Group, 2003 ) ]
