Alfred Moore

Alfred Moore
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
In office
April 21, 1800 – January 26, 1804[1]
Nominated byJohn Adams
Preceded byJames Iredell
Succeeded byWilliam Johnson
Attorney General of North Carolina
In office
April 22, 1782 – January 9, 1791[2]
GovernorAlexander Martin
Richard Caswell
Samuel Johnston
Alexander Martin
Preceded byJames Iredell
Succeeded byJohn Haywood
Personal details
Born(1755-05-21)May 21, 1755
New Hanover County, North Carolina, British America
DiedOctober 15, 1810(1810-10-15) (aged 55)
Bladen County, North Carolina, U.S.
Political partyFederalist
Signature

Alfred Moore (May 21, 1755 – October 15, 1810) was an American judge, lawyer, planter and military officer who became an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Moore Square, a park located in the Moore Square Historic District in Raleigh, North Carolina, was named in his honor, as was Moore County, North Carolina. He was also a founder and trustee of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Moore is noted for having written just one opinion for the Court during his term of service: Bas v. Tingy, a minor case of maritime law. Although a member of the Court for nearly four years, poor health kept Moore from the Court's business during much of his tenure. In particular he did not participate in Marbury v. Madison, a landmark case decided while he was on the Court. Moore was one of the least effective justices in the history of the Court, his career having "made scarcely a ripple in American judicial history."[3]

  1. ^ "Justices 1789 to Present". Washington, D.C.: Supreme Court of the United States. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  2. ^ Clifton, James M. (1991). "Moore, Alfred". NCpedia. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  3. ^ Hall, Kermit L., ed. (1992). The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 650-651. ISBN 978-0-19-505835-2.