He became the first African American lawyer to be confirmed as a judge of the Supreme Court in 1967. He remained in the court for 24 years. He left a legacy of upholding the constitutional rights of the individual. In the early years of his career, he established a reputation of being the "lawyer of the little man" and he also was a member of the NACCP.
The law showed that the middle colonies were more tolerant to different religions than the Puritans of New England. There was no religion tolerance in the New England colonies for a long time
