Gabriel Duvall

Gabriel Duvall
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
In office November 23, 1811 – January 14, 1835[1]
Nominated by	James Madison
Preceded by	Samuel Chase
Succeeded by	Philip P. Barbour
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 2nd district
In office November 11, 1794 – March 28, 1796
Preceded by	John Mercer
Succeeded by	Richard Sprigg
Personal details
Born	(1752-12-06)December 6, 1752 Prince George's County, Province of Maryland, British America
Died	March 6, 1844(1844-03-06) (aged 91) Glenn Dale, Maryland, U.S.
Political party	Democratic-Republican
Spouse(s)	Mary Bryce (1787–1794) Jane Gibbon (1795–1834)
Signature

Gabriel Duvall (December 6, 1752 – March 6, 1844) was an American politician and jurist. Duvall was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1811 to 1835, during the Marshall Court. Previously, Duvall was the Comptroller of the Treasury, a Maryland state court judge, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland, and a Maryland state legislator.

Whether Duvall is deserving of the title of "the most insignificant" justice in the history of the U.S. Supreme Court has been the subject of much academic interest, most notably a debate between University of Chicago Law Professors David P. Currie and (now-Judge) Frank H. Easterbrook in 1983. Currie argued that "impartial examination of Duvall's performance reveals to even the uninitiated observer that he achieved an enviable standard of insignificance against which all other justices must be measured."^[2] Easterbrook responded that Currie's analysis lacked "serious consideration of candidates so shrouded in obscurity that they escaped proper attention even in a contest of insignificance," and concluded that Duvall's colleague, Justice Thomas Todd, was even more insignificant.^[3]