prevent the rise of a police state. The require- ment that police officers obtain search war- rants prevents arbitrary violations of freedom, applying equally to federal and state authority. Yet this freedom is not absolute. In the twentieth century, the Supreme Court has carved out a few exceptions to its protections. These exceptions exist under “exigent circum- stances”: the emergencylike demands of spe- cifically defin ed situations that call for imme- diate response by the police, who must have PROBABLE C AUS E to conduct a search. G enerally, these are circumstances under which obtaining a search warrant would be impractical— ranging from those requiring officers to frisk suspects for weapons to those requiring officers to stop and search automobiles—as well as when suspects explicitly consent or imply consent to a search. Hot pursuit is one such exigent circum- stance. It usually applies when the police are pursuing a suspected felon into private premises or have probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed on private premises. The Supreme Court stated that “‘hot pursuit’ means some sort of a chase, but it need not be an extended hue and cry ‘in and about the public streets’” (United States v. Santana, 427 U.S. 38, 96 S. Ct. 2406, 49 L. Ed. 2d 300 [1976]). Hot pursuit also applies when the lives of police officers or others are in danger. Thus, the Court has recognized two specific conditions that justify warrantless searches under the rule of hot pursuit: the need to circumvent the destruction of evidence, and the need to prevent the loss of life or serious injury. The Supreme Court enunciated the rule of hot pursuit in 1967, in Warden v. Hayden, 387 U.S. 294, 87 S. Ct. 1642, 18 L. Ed. 2d 782. It had used the term before, but in Warden, it explicitly condoned a certain form of this warrantless search. In this case, police officers pursuing a suspected armed robber were told that he had entered a dwelling moments before their arrival. They entered the dwelling, searched it and seized evidence, and then apprehended the suspect in bed. The man alleged in court that the warrantless search of the premises had violated his Fourth Amend- ment rights. When the case reached the Supreme Court, it disagreed, justifying the search under exigent circumstances. Since Warden, lower courts have applied the rule to determine whether police officers acted reasonably or unreasonably when conducting a search without obtaining a search warrant. Other cases have permitted warrantless entry and arrest in hot pursuit under different circumstances: when the police saw a suspect standing in her doorway who retreated inside carrying a package that contained marked money from a drug sting (United States v. Santana, 427 U.S. 38, 96 S. Ct. 2406, 49 L. Ed. 2d 300 [1976]); when the police had probable cause to arrest a suspect because he fit the description of an assailant who had threatened others and fled arrest (United States v. Lopez, 989 F.2d 24 (1st Cir. 1993), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 872, 114 S. Ct. 201, 126 L. Ed. 2d 158 [1993]); and when a police officer at the threshold of an apartment viewed a narcotics deal taking place inside (United States v. Sewell, 942 F.2d 1209 [7th Cir. 1991]). Although hot pursuit expands the powers of the police to conduct warrantless searches, it does so under strict circumstances. Its purpose is grounded in practical necessity; it does not give law officers license to ignore constitutional safeguards. Courts make the final determination of whether a warrantless search is permissible, and they will reject misuses of the rule. One improper use of hot pursuit occurred in O’Brien v. City of Grand Rapids, 23 F.3d 990 (6th Cir. 1994). In this case, police officers pursued a suspect to his house, called for backup, surrounded the residence, and ultimately spent six hours in a standoff without seeking a search warrant. The court held that the suspect could not have fled the scene and that the officers had no fear of destruction of evidence or of a threat to safety. Thus, no exigent circumstances authorized their warrantless search. FURTHER READINGS Apol, John, and Magistrate Judge Paul J. Komives. 2002. “Criminal Procedure.” Michigan State–D.C.L College of Law Review (summer). Department of the Army. 1987. “Warrantless Searches and Seizures.” Pamphlet 27-22. Jenson, Travis N. 1998. “Cooling the Hot Pursuit: Toward a Categorical Approach.” Indiana Law Journal 73 (fall). Poulantzas, Nicholas M. 2002. The Right of Hot Pursuit in International Law. 2d ed. New York: Springer. Search and Seizure Update. 2009. New York: Practising Law Institute. Available online at http://www.pli.edu (accessed July 30, 2009). CROSS REFERENCE Search and Seizure. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 318 HOT PURSUIT HOTCHPOT The process of combining and assimilating property belonging to different individuals so that the property can be equally divided; the taking into consideration of funds or property that have already been given to children when dividing up the property of a decedent so that the respective shares of the children can be equalized. HOUSE ARREST Confinement to one’s home or another specified location instead of incarceration in a jail or prison. House arrest has been used since ancient times as an alternative to criminal imprison- ment, often imposed upon people who either were too powerful or too influential to be placed in an actual prison. Hereditary rulers, religious leaders, and political figures, whose imprison- ment might spur a revolt by loyalists, would be confined to their homes where they could live comfortably and safely but without any influ- ence. House arrest does no t always lessen influence, however. For example, Aung San Suu Kyi, a political leader from Myanmar, was placed under house arrest from 1989 to 1995, and again from 2000 to 2002, by the nation’s military junta. On both occasions, the interna- tional community successfully exerted pressure on the government to release Suu Kyi , a peace activist and Nobel laureate. The term house arrest can also refer to electronic monitoring programs in which a convicted criminal is sentenced to home con- finement instead of prison, for a specified period. The criminal wears an electronic ankle bracelet (for which he usually bears mainte- nance costs) that monitors movement and sends a signal to a central computer if the house arrest is violated. Examples of crimes that could warrant house arrest include white-collar crimes such as FRAUD or embezzlement. This type of sentence can be a cost-effective way of punishing criminals who pose no threat to others and thus do not need to be imprisoned at the state’s expense. The justice system is more closely scruti- nized when high-profile public figures are sentenced to house arrest. Boxer Riddick Bowe ( ASSAULT AND BA TTERY ), television personality Martha Stewart (lying to investigators about a stock sale), and investment swindler Bernard Madoff (fraud) were all sentenced to house arrest for varying lengths of time for their offenses. Paris Hilton (driving under the influ- ence) initially convinced a sheriff that she was entitled to house arrest due to a medical condition she suffered. A court later called the release a mistake and ordered her back to jail, after many members of the media and the public criticized the release as preferential treatment for a celebrity. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES The lower cham ber, or larger branch, of the U.S. Congress, or a similar body in the legislature of many of the states. The U.S. House of Representatives forms one of the two branches of the U.S. Congress. The House comprises 435 members who are elected to two-year terms. The U.S. Constitu- tion vests the House with the sole power of introducing bills for raising revenue, making it one of the most influential components of the U.S. government. Members According to Article I, Section 2, of the U.S. Constitution, a member of the House must be at least twenty-five years of age and a U.S. citizen for seven years before his or her election. In addit ion, representatives must reside in the state that they represent. Members of the House are generally called congressmen, congress- women, or representatives. During the First Congress (1789–91), the House had sixty-five members, each represent- ing approximately 30,000 people. Until 1929 the law required the number of members in the House to increase in proportion to the national population. That year Congress passed the Permanent APPORTIONMENT Act (46 Stat. 21, 26, 27), which limited the size of the House to 435 representatives. During the 1990s each House member represented an average of 572,000 people. Reapportionment or redistribution of House seats—a process whereby some states lose House representatives while others gain them—occurs after census figures have been collected. The Constitution requires that a census be con- ducted every ten years (art. 1, § 2). Each state must have at least one representative. Puerto Rico elects a nonvoting resident commissioner to the House for a four-year term. Nonvoting delegates from American Samoa, GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 319 The First U.S. House of Representatives, 1789–1791: Setting Precedent for Future Lawmakers I B n the early twenty-first century, the U.S. House of Representatives is known as an institution with established traditions and procedures. It has 435 members, standing committees, rules for evaluating legislation, and well-defined relations with the Senate, the president, and the executive agencies of the federal government. However, the structure and operations of the House have not always been well established. In 1789, as it began the task of creating laws for a new nation, the House had no precedent to guide it. The House of Representatives first convened April 1, 1789, in New York City. Representatives slowly made the long journe y to New York, and the First House eventually reached a total of 65 members. Fifty-five representatives belonged to the Federalist party, and ten allied themselves with the Anti-Federalist party. The new House m embers were not without experience in legislative matters. Fifty-two had served in a state legislature, the Continental Congress, or the Constitutional Convention. Their legislative experience proved invaluable during this First Congress, because the Constitution gave them only limited guidance on how to establish the House. It was up to the representatives to work out the details o f an effective lawmaking body. On its first day in session, the House elected its officers, choosing Frederick A. C. Muhlenberg, of Pennsylvania, as its first Speaker. On succeeding days it established rules relating to debate, legisla- tion, committees, and cooperation w ith the Senate. It also defined the duties of the Speaker, modeling that position after the Speaker of the English House of Commons. The Speaker was to preside over House sessions, preserve order, resolve di sputed points, and appoint certain committees. The lack of precedent made operations difficult for the First House. James Madison, of Virgi nia, a principal Framer of the Constitution and a leading member of the First House, complained, “In every step the difficulties arising from novelty are severely experienced. Scarcely a day passes without some striking evidence of the delays and perplexi- ties springing merely from the want of precedents.” Madison was confident that the House would resolve its problems, however, concludi ng, “Time will be a full remedy for this evil.” The House gradually found ways to improve the problems cited by Madison and others. One important solution was the development of committees. The first legislation passed by the House was created by the Committee of the Whole—that is, the entire House acting as one large committee. Representa- tives soon found that this was a cumbersome way to pass legislation. When meeting as the Committee of the Whole, they could consider only one piece of legislation at a time. Moreover, the chamber often became bogged down by seemingly endless debate as each member sought to join the argument. The House responded to this predicament by creating temporary committees to research and draft legislation, forming a separate committee for each bill. This relieved the entire chamber of the necessity of debating every detail of each piece of legislation. The contemporary House, by contrast, has permanent, or standing, committees, each of which handles many bills. The sole standing committee to come out of the first House was the Committee on Elections. With these and other changes, the First House of Representatives was able to accomplish many tasks of vital importance to the young nation. Together with the Senate, it passed 60 statutes, including laws that founded the Departments of War, Treasury, and Foreign Affairs. The House also established its power to give limited orders to executive agencies, such as when it requested Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton to report on issues such as the federal debt, plans to promote manufacturing, and the establishment of a national mint. No less important, under the leadership of James Madison, it drafted the first ten amendments to the Constitu- tion, known as the Bill of Rights. The House has changed greatly in more t han two centuries, but the foundation built by the first representatives remains. Their innovations have become flexible traditions that allow the House to maintain order even as it evolves a nd a dapts to new situations. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 320 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES the District of Columbia, Guam, and the Virgin Islands are elected to a two-year term. These special representatives are allowed to participate in debates and vote in committees. Committees House committees are responsible for most of the work involved in the creation of new laws. After a bill is introduced in the House, it is referred to a committee. The commi ttee studies the bill and may hold public hearings on it or suggest amendments. If the bill has the support of a majority of committee members, it is reported to the House, which then debates it and votes on it. The Committee on Rules determines how long a bill may be debated and the procedure by which it is amended. The number of standing, or permanent, House committees has varied over time. In 1800 five standing committees existed. By 1910 the number of standing committees had increased to sixty-one. Between 1950 and the 1990s, the total stabilized at nineteen to twenty-two. During the 104th Congress (1995–97), there were nineteen standing committees in the House: Agriculture; Appropriations; Banking and Financial Services; Budget; Commerce; Economic and Educational Opportunities; Gov- ernment Reform and Oversight; House Over- sight; International Relations; Judiciary; Nation- al Security; Resources; Rules; Science; Small Business; Standards of Official Conduct; Trans- portation and Infrastructure; Veterans’ Affairs; and Ways and Means. Each committee has an average of eight to ten subcommittees. Committee membership is determined by a vote of the entire House, and committee chairs are elected by the majority party. The House may also create special committees, including investigative committees. Officers The Speaker of the House has the most powerful position in the House and is tradi- tionally the leader of the majority party. The Speaker interprets and applies House rules and refers bills to committees. Party leadership positions in the House include the majority and minority leaders, or floor leaders, and the majority and minority whips. The elected officers of the House include the clerk, the sergeant at arms, and the doorkeeper. The clerk oversees the major legislative duties of the House. He or she takes all votes and certifies the passage of bills, calls the House to order at the commencement of each Congress, administers legislative information and refer- ence services, and supervises television coverage of House floor proceedings. The sergeant at arms, a member of the U.S. Capitol Police Board, is the chief law enforcement officer for the House. The sergeant maintains order in the House and arranges formal ceremonies such as presidential inaugurations and joint sessions of Congress. The doorkeeper monitors admission to the Hous e and its galleries and organizes the distribution of House documents. FURTHER READINGS Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives Website. “House History.” Available online at http://clerk.house. gov/art_history/house_history/index.html; website home page: http://clerk.house.gov (accessed July 30, 2009). U.S. House of Representatives. 1994. Committee on House Administration. History of the United States House of Representatives, 1789–1994. 103d Cong. 2d sess. H.Doc. 103–324. Zelizer, Julian E. 1006. On Capitol Hill: The Struggle to Reform Congress and its Consequences. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press. CROSS REFERENCES Apportionment; Congress of the United States; Constitu- tion of the United States. HOUSE UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES COMMITTEE (HUAC) See COMMUNISM “House Un-American Activities Committee” (In Focus). HOUSEBREAKING The act of using physical force to gain access to, and entering, a house with an intent to commit a felony inside. In most states, housebreaking that occurs at night constitutes the crime of BURGLARY. Some statutes expand the definition of housebreaking to include breaking out of a house after entry has been achieved without the use of physical force, such as when access was gained under FALSE PRETENSES. HOUSEHOLD Individuals who comprise a family unit and who live together under the same roof; individuals who dwell in the same place and comprise a family, GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION HOUSEHOLD 321 sometimes encompassing domestic help; all those who are under the control of one domestic head. For the purposes of insurance, the terms family and household are frequently used interchangeably. CROSS REFERENCE Head of Household. HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT The DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOP- MENT (HUD) is the principal federal agency responsible for programs concerned with hous- ing needs, fair housing opportunities, and improving and developing U.S. communities. HUD was established in 1965 by the Department of Housing and Urban Develop- ment Act (42 U.S.C.A. § 3532–3537). Its major functions include insuring mortgages for single- family and multifamily dwellings and extending loans for home improvements and for the purchase of mobile homes; channeling funds from investors into the mortgage industry through the GOVERNMENT NATIONAL MORTGAGE ASSOCIATION ; and making loans for the construction or rehabilitation of housing projects for older and handicapped persons. HUD also provides federal housing subsidies for low- and moderate-income families, makes grants to states and local communities for development activities related to housing, and promotes and enforces laws, policies, and regulations supporting fair housing and equal housing opportunities. HUD is administered under the supervision and direction of a cabinet-level secretary appointed by the president. The secretary of HUD formulates recommendations for housing and community development policy and works with the Executive Office of the President and other federal agencies to ensure that housing policies are consistent with other economic and fiscal policies of the government. In addition, the secretary encourages private enterprise to serve the housing and community development needs of the nation whenever possible and promotes the use of initiatives within the state, local, and private sectors to spur the growth of housing and community development resources. Equally important, the secretary ensures equal access to housing and promotes nondiscrimination. The secretary also overs ees the FEDERAL NATIONAL MORTGAGE ASSOCIATION Department of Housing and Urban Development Federal Housing Finance Board Managing Director Office of Departmental Equal Employment Opportunity Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight Director Staff Office: Office of Hearings and Appeals Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization Assistant Secretary for Policy Development & Research Chief Information Officer Chief Financial Officer Assistant Secretary for Housing— Federal Housing Commissioner Assistant Secretary for Congressional & Intergovern- mental Relations Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing & Equal Opportunity Assistant Secretary for Community Planning & Development Assistant Secretary for Adminis- tration Office of Departmental Operations and Coordination Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Inspector General Assistant Deputy Secretary for Field Policy & Management Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives Chief Procurement Officer Secretary Deputy Secretary Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control President, Government National Mortgage Association General Counsel ILLUSTRATION BY GGS CREATIVE RESOURCES. REPRODUCED BY PERMISSION OF GALE, A PART OF CENGAGE LEARNING. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3 RD E DITION 322 HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT (FNMA). FNMA, also known as Fannie Mae, was chartered by Congress in the late 1960s as a stockholder-owned, privately managed corpo- ration to provide a secondary market for home mortgages. Fannie Mae purchases home mort- gages and then issues SECURITIES funded by the monthly principal and interest payments of homeowners. Several program areas within HUD carry out the department’s goals and functions. The assistant secretary for housing, who also acts as the federal housing commissioner, underwrites property improvement loans and loa ns for manufactured homes and administers programs that help provide housin g for special groups, including the elderly, the disabled, and the chronically mentally ill. The assistant secretary also administers housing programs to assist low-income families who are having difficulties affording housing and to protect consumers against fraudulent practices of land developers and promoters. The assistant secretary for community planning and development implements a num- ber of programs, including the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program for local communities. The CDBG Program was established in 1974 to meet a wide variety of community development needs, including the need to expand economic opportunities for persons of low and moderate income by helping to provide them with decent and affordable housing. Block grants can be used to revitalize neighborhoods in blighted areas as well as to meet other community development needs. The assistant secretary for community planning and development also implem ents Hope for Ownership of Single Family Homes, which helps low-income persons become homeowners by providing federal assistance to help finance the purchase and rehabilitation of single-family homes at affordable prices. A similar program administered by the Commu- nity Planning and Development area of HUD is Home Investment in Affordable Housing, which also provides federal assistance to locali- ties and Indian tribes for housing rehabilitation, assistance to first-time home buyers and fund- ing for the new construction of rental housing in areas where such housing is needed. Other programs provide assistance for procuring both transitional and permanent housing for homeless people and for relocating property owners displaced by federal projects under the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C.A. § 4601 et seq.). The assistant secretary for community planning and development is also responsible for implementing the Neighborhood Develop- ment Demonstration Program, which was designed to determine the ability of neighbor- hood organizations to fund and implement neighborhood development activities. The pro- gram uses cooperative efforts and monetary support from individuals, businesses, and nonprofit organizations in conjunction with federal matching funds to encourage neighbor- hood organizations to become more self- sufficient in their development activ ities. The assistant secretary for policy develop- ment and research evaluates and analyzes exist- ing and proposed HUD programs and policies. The office of this secretary conducts field studies to determine the effectiveness of HUD programs through cost-benefit research and provides the secretary of HUD with economic, legal, and policy analyses of issues related to the depart- ment’s oversight responsibilities. The Office of Lead-Based Paint Abatement develops policy, conducts research, and drafts regulations to increase awareness of the dangers associated with lead-based paint poisoning and to develop safe and effective methods for the detection and abatement of lead-based paint poisoning. It also encourages state and local governments to develop programs for public education and hazard reduction surrounding such poisoning. The assistant sec retary for fair housing and equal opportunity administers fair housing laws and regulations prohibiting discrimination in public and private housing on the basis of race, color, RELIGION, sex, national origin, handicap, or familial status. This assistant secretary thus acts as the principal adviser to the secretary of HUD on all matters relating to CIVIL RIGHTS and equal opportunity in housing. The assistant secretary also administers equal employment opportunity laws and regulations that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap, or age. The assistant secretary for public and Indian housing administers a number of programs to help meet the housing needs of Native Americans. These programs include the Com- prehensive Improvement Assistance Grant GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT 323 Program, which helps modernize and upgrade low-income housing projects; the Resident Initiatives Program, which supports resident participation in the management of properties, economic development, and other services, including programs to help ensure drug-free neighborhoods; and other programs that deter- mine eligibility for public housing. The Government National Mortgage Asso- ciation (GNMA), another component of HUD, is a government corporation that guarantees mortgages issued by private lenders. In addition, through its mortgage-backed securities pro- grams, Ginnie Mae, as it is known, works to promote and expand the housing market by increasing the supply of credit available for housing by channeling funds from the securities market into the mortgage market. HUD headquarters are located in Washing- ton, D.C., and ten HUD field offices are located throughout the United States. Each field office is headed by a secretary’s representative, who is responsible for the management of the office and reports directly to the secretary. The representatives carry out the objectives of HUD as they relate to state and local govern- ments and monitor the potential local effects of HUD policies and decisions. In 1998 HUD opened the HUD Enforce- ment Center to take action against HUD- assisted multifamily property owners and other HUD fund recipients who violate laws and regulations. In the same year, Congress also approved Public Housing reforms to reduce segregation by race and income, encourage and reward work, bring more working families into public housing, and increase the availability of subsidized housing for very poor families. Subsequently, HUD increased its funding for low income family housing, as well as tax credits to developers of affordable single family homes. FURTHER READINGS “Articles about the Housing and Urban Development.” The New York Times (September 4, 2009). Available online at http://topics.nytimes.co m/topics/reference/ timesto pics/organizations/h/housing_and_urban_development_ department/index.html; website home page: http:// topics.nytimes.com (accessed September 4, 2009). Housing and Urban Development Department. “Homes & Communities.” Available online at http://www.hud.gov (accessed July 30, 2009). Office of the Federal Register (U.S.). 2009. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 24, Housing and Urban Development, Pt. 500–699, Revised as of April 1, 2009. CROSS REFERENCES Civil Rights; Federal National Mortgage Asso ciation; Government National Mortgage Association. v HOUSTON, CHARLES HAMILTON Charles Hamilton Houston was a law professor and CIVIL RIGHTS lawyer who argued many landmark cases on behalf of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP). Houston was born September 3, 1895 , in Washington, D.C. His father, William Houston, was trained as a lawyer and worked for a while as a records clerk to supplement the family’s income; his mother, Mary Ethel Houston, worked as a hairdresser. Houston’s father eventually began practicing law full-time and later became a law professor at Howard University, a predominantly black institution located in Washington, D.C. An only child, Houston received his primary and secondary education in segregated Washington, D.C., schools. After graduating from high school, he received a full scholarship to the University of Pittsburgh. At the urging of his parents, he instead entered Amherst College, where he was the only black student enrolled. An outstanding student, he was elected Phi Beta Kappa, and graduated magna cum laude in 1915. After Amherst, Houston taught English composition and literature at Howard for two years. In 1917, shortly after the United States entered WORLD WAR I, Houston left teaching fo r military service. He enrolled in an officer candidate school for blacks, established at Des Moines. After four months of training, Houston became a first lieutenant in the infantry and was assigned to duty at Camp Meade, Maryla nd. He later entered field artillery school, despite the widely held belief that blacks could not serve effectively as field artillery officers. Houston served in France until 1919, then returned to the United States to enroll at Harvard Law School. He was one of the few black students admitted at that time. His outstanding academic record earned him a place on the editorial board of the Harvard Law Review, making him the first black student to be so honored. In 1922 he received a bachelor of laws degree cum laude. He remained at Harvard for an additional year of graduate study, and earned a doctor of juridical science degree in 1923. He then won a fellowship to study for a year at the GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 324 HOUSTON, CHARLES HAMILTON University of Madrid, where he earned a doctor of CIVIL LAW degree. In 1924, his studies completed, Houston was admitted to the bar of the District of Columbia and became his father’s partner in the law firm of Houston and Houston. He quickly developed a successful practice, specializing in trusts and estates, probate, and landlord-tenant matters. He also taught law part-time at Howard University. In 1929 he left law practice to become an associate professor and vice dean of the School of Law at Howard. In 1932 he became dean, a post he held until 1935. WhileatHoward,Houstonworkedtoupgrade the law school’s facilities, reputation, and academ- ic standards and was instrumental in securing full accreditation for the school. He also found time to participate in important CIVIL RIGHTS CASES.He helped write the brief for Nixon v . Condon, 28 6 U. S. 73, 52 S. Ct. 484, 76 L. Ed. 984 (1932), i n which the U.S. Supreme Court held that a “whites-only” primary election was unconstitutional. He also helped argue Norris v. Alabama, 294 U.S. 587, 55 S. Ct. 579, 79 L. Ed. 1074 (1935), where the Court overturned the convictions of nine black men charged with RAPE, because Alabama’s systematic exclusion of b lacks from juries violated the FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT of the Constitution. In 1935 Houston left Washington, D.C., to become the first special counsel for the NAACP, headquartered in New York City. As special counsel, Houston initiated legal challenges in support of civil rights and argued landmark cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, including Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada, 305 U.S. 337, 59 S. Ct. 232, 83 L. Ed. 208 (1938). In Gaines, the Supreme Court ruled that a state could not exclude a black applicant from a state- supported all-white law school. Houston also argued Shelley v. Kraemer, 334 U.S. 1, 68 S. Ct. 836, 92 L. Ed. 1161 (1948). In the Shelley decision, the Court held that a clause in a real estate contract prohibiting the sale of property to nonwhites could not be enforced by state courts. Houston was widely praised for the thorough and sometimes painstaking prepara- tion of his legal briefs and his impassioned oral arguments before the Court. Charles Hamilton Houston. FISK UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Charles Hamilton Houston 1895–1950 ❖ ❖ 1895 Born, Washington, D.C. ◆◆◆◆ 1915 Graduated from Amherst College; began teaching at Howard University 1932 Assisted in writing brief for Nixon v. Condon 1914–18 World War I 1950 Died, Washington, D.C. 1939–45 World War II 1938 Argued Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada before Supreme Court 1950–53 Korean War ▼▼ ▼▼ 19001900 19501950 19251925 1929 Joined Howard University Law School ◆ 1948 Argued Shelley v. Kramer before Supreme Court 1935–40 Served as special counsel for NAACP in New York City 1917–19 Served in U.S. Army 1923 Graduated from Harvard Law School 1924 Admitted to Washington, D.C., bar 1932–35 Served as dean of the Howard University Law School 1935 Argued Norris v. Alabama before Supreme Court ◆ ◆ ◆ 1944–45 Served on the Fair Employment Practices Committee WHETHER ELECTED OR APPOINTED , PUBLIC OFFICIALS SERVE THOSE WHO PUT AND KEEP THEM IN OFFICE .WE CANNOT DEPEND UPON THEM TO FIGHT OUR BATTLES . —CHARLES HAMILTON HOUSTON GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION HOUSTON, CHARLES HAMILTON 325 In 1940 Houston left the NAACP to return to private practice in Washington, D.C., though he remained a member of the NAACP’s national legal committee. He was succeeded as special counsel by THURGOOD MARSHALL,a colleague at the NAACP whom he had taught at Howard and who later became the first African American justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. Houston remained active in civil rights work, winning before the U.S. Supreme Court two cases that struck down racially discriminatory practices by the railroads: Steele v. Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company, 323 U.S. 192, 65 S. Ct. 226, 89 L. Ed. 173 (1944), and Tunstall v. Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen, 323 U.S. 210, 65 S. Ct. 235, 89 L. Ed. 187 (1944). In 1944 Houston was appointed by Presi- dent FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT to the Fair Employ- ment Practices Committee (FEPC). He resigned the following year after a dispute with President HARRY S. TRUMAN over alleged discriminatory hiring practices on the part of the Capital Transit Company, of Washington, D.C. Capital Transit Company was the transportation system in Washington, D.C. Houston alleged that it engaged in discriminatory poli cies by not hiring black workers or promoting current black workers to positions as bus operators or streetcar conductors. The FEPC wanted to issue a directive ending discriminatio n. Truman did not respond to Houston’s efforts to have the directive issued, so Houston resigned from the FEPC. Truman finally did respond, main- taining that, becaus e Capital Transit had earlier been seized under the War Labor Dispute Act because of a labor dispute, enforcement of the order ending discrimination should be post- poned. After battling heart disease for several years, Houston died in Washington, D.C., on April 22, 1950, at the age of 54. FURTHER READINGS Congressional Quarterly. 2004. Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court. 4th ed. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly. Elliott, Stephen P., ed. 1986. A Reference Guide to the United States Supreme Court. New York: Facts on File. Fairfax, Roger A., Jr. 1998. “Wielding the Double-Edged Sword: Charles Hamilton Houston and Judicial Activ- ism in the Age of Legal Realism.” Harvard Blackletter Law Journal 14 (spring). Jones, Nathaniel R. 2001. “The Sisyphean Impact on Houstonian Jurisprudence.” Univ. of Cincinnati Law Review 69 (winter). McNeil, Genna Rae. 1983. Groundwork: Charles Hamilton Houston and the Struggle for Civil Rights. Philadelphia: Univ. of Pennsylvania Press. Smith, J. Clay, Jr, and E. Desmond Hogan. 1998. “Remembered Hero, Forgotten Contribution: Charles Hamilton Houston, Legal Realism, and Labor Law.” Harvard Blackletter Law Journal 14 (spring). CROSS REFERENCE Powell v. Alabama. v HOWARD, BENJAMIN CHEW Benjamin Chew Howard was a lawyer who served as the Supreme Court reporter of decisions from 1843 to 1861. Howard, born November 5, 1791, in Baltimore, was the son of a distinguished Revolutionary War officer and the grandson of the president of the Pennsylvania Court of Errors and Appeals before the Revolution. Howard earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the College of New Jersey (later known as Princeton University). In 1812 he began the study of law, which was interrupted by military Benjamin Chew Howard 1791–1872 ❖ ❖ 1791 Born, Baltimore, Md. 1812–14 Served in the War of 1812, including leadership role in the Battle of North Point 1816 Admitted to Maryland bar 1840–43 Served as senator in Md. General Assembly 1843–61 Served as reporter of U.S. Supreme Court 1872 Died, Baltimore, Md. 1861–65 U.S. Civil War ▼▼ ▼▼ 17751775 18251825 18501850 18751875 18001800 1775–83 American Revolution 1812–14 War of 1812 1820 Elected to Baltimore City Council 1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford decision handed down by Supreme Court ◆◆◆ 1824 Elected to Maryland House of Delegates ◆ 1829–33 and 1835–39 Served in U.S. House of Representatives GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 326 HOWARD, BENJAMIN CHEW service during the WAR OF 1812. Howard was a captain in the war and played a prominent role in the defense of Baltimore during the Battle of North Point, fought in September 1814. Following the war, Howard resumed his legal studies. He was admitted to the Maryland bar in 1816. Active in the Maryland DEMOCRATIC PARTY , in 1820, he was elected to the Baltimore City Council, and in 1824 he won a seat in the Maryland House of Delegates. In 1829 he was elected to the U.S. Congress, where he served four terms. During his time in Congress, he was chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee for several years. In 1840 he left Congress to return to Maryland state politics, serving as a senator in the Maryland General Assembly. In January 1843 he resigned before the expiration of his term, to become reporter of the U.S. Supreme Court, a position created by Congress in 1816. As reporter Howard was primarily respon- sible for editing, publishing, and distributing the Court’s opinions. He replaced Richard Peters, who was fired after he disagreed with several of the justices about whether their opinions should be published in the reports. Howard, though highly praised for publishing thorough and well-edited reports, did create a controversy of his own when he refused to include the complete arguments raised by both sides in a fugitive slave case decided by the Court, thus calling his impartiality into question. In Howard’s day the reporter was paid a modest yearly salary and usually earned addi- tional income selling copies of the bound volume in which an important case appeared or printing the opinion separately in a pamphlet for sale to the public. When the Dred Scott decision outlawing SLAVERY was issued by the U. S. Supreme Court in 1857, the U.S. Senate sought to publicize it as broadly as possible and printed 20,000 copies for free distribution to the public ( DRED SCOTT V. SANDFORD, 60 U.S. [19 How.] 393, 15 L. Ed. 691 [1856]). Howard protested strongly that his income from the sale of the opinion would suffer from the competi- tion. As a result the Senate voted to pay him $1,500 in compensation and agreed not to distribute its version until Howard’s bound volume and pamphlet version were made available. Howard, who edited 24 volumes of reports, remained active in politics while Supreme COURT REPORTER . He resigned from the Court in 1861 to run as the Democratic candidate for governor of Maryland. Following his de f eat, Howard retired from public lif e. He died March 6, 1872, in Baltimore. H.R. See HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. HUD See HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, DEPARTMENT OF . v HUGHES, CHARLES EVANS ThelongpubliccareerofCHARLES EVANS HUGHES prepared him to be a powerful chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Hughes was a legal and political dynamo. Beginning as a lawyer and law professor in New York in the 1880s, he became known nationally for his role in investigating power utilities and the insurance industry. He went on to a career in national and international affairs—first as a two-term governor of New York, second as a Republican nominee for president, and third as SECRETARY OF STATE . He was twice appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, serving as an assoc iate justice from 1910 to 1916 and as chief justice from 1 930 to 1941. His intellectual vigor and strong hand guided the Court through the critical period of the NEW DEAL Benjamin C. Howard. COLLECTION OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3 RD E DITION HUGHES, CHARLES EVANS 327 . Served as reporter of U.S. Supreme Court 1872 Died, Baltimore, Md. 1861– 65 U.S. Civil War ▼▼ ▼▼ 17 751 7 75 18 251 8 25 1 850 1 850 18 751 8 75 18001800 17 75 83 American Revolution 1812–14 War of 1812 1820 Elected. delegates from American Samoa, GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 319 The First U.S. House of Representatives, 1789–1791: Setting Precedent for Future Lawmakers I B n. Association General Counsel ILLUSTRATION BY GGS CREATIVE RESOURCES. REPRODUCED BY PERMISSION OF GALE, A PART OF CENGAGE LEARNING. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3 RD E DITION 322 HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT (FNMA).