8.5x7 B&W vintage Associated Press Wirephoto signed in black marker by Abe Fortas. Scattered creasing, otherwise, in fine condition. (1910-1982) Abraham Fortas was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1965 to 1969. Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, Fortas graduated from Rhodes College and Yale Law School. He later became a law professor at Yale Law School and then an advisor for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Fortas worked at the Department of the Interior under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and was appointed by President Harry S. Truman to delegations that helped set up the United Nations in 1945.In 1948, Fortas represented Lyndon B. Johnson in the dispute over the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination, and he formed close ties with Johnson. Fortas also represented Clarence Earl Gideon before the U.S. Supreme Court, in a landmark case involving the right to counsel. Nominated by Johnson to the Supreme Court in 1965, Fortas was confirmed by the Senate, and maintained a close working relationship with the president. As a justice, Fortas wrote several notable majority opinions including Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District.In 1968, Johnson tried to elevate Fortas to the position of Chief Justice of the United States, but that nomination faced a filibuster and was withdrawn. Fortas later resigned from the Court after a controversy involving his acceptance of $20,000 from financier Louis Wolfson while Wolfson was being investigated for insider trading. The Justice Department investigated Fortas at the behest of President Richard Nixon, who saw replacing Fortas as a chance to move the Court in a more conservative direction. Attorney General John N. Mitchell pressured Fortas into resigning. Following his resignation, Fortas returned to private practice, occasionally appearing before the justices with whom he had served.This lot came from the Jim Wiggins collection we purchased in July 2022. Jim Wiggins accumulated the most unique and valuable autograph collection over a period of 70-plus years. He obtained his collection either in person or by writing to persons of fame and notoriety.Comes with a full Letter of Authenticity from Todd Mueller Authentics.