{"id":6655,"date":"2026-07-08T10:35:43","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T10:35:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6655"},"modified":"2026-07-08T10:35:43","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T10:35:43","slug":"george-hutchinson-the-supreme-courts-last-official-crier-dies-at-102","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6655","title":{"rendered":"George Hutchinson, the Supreme Court\u2019s last official crier, dies at 102"},"content":{"rendered":"

At age 15, he began working at the court as a page. He rose to become its crier, announcing the justices\u2019 arrival and gaveling the court to order.<\/strong><\/p>

Read more Liberals elevated Graham Platner. Now they want influence if he drops out.<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
George Hutchinson in the 1950s. As Supreme Court crier, he played a ceremonial role dating to the court\u2019s founding. (Bob Higbie\/Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

George Hutchinson\u2019s words were far from the most important spoken during Brown v. Board of Education. <\/i>But they were the first.<\/p>\n

With a cry of \u201cOyez, oyez, oyez,\u201d Mr. Hutchinson announced the arrival of the justices and gaveled the court to order, as he did for virtually every Supreme Court case from 1952 to 1962.<\/p>\n

Mr. Hutchinson, who died June 14 at 102, was the last crier of the U.S. Supreme Court, tasked with carrying out ceremonial duties that were later turned over to the court marshal.<\/p>\n

His tenure as crier coincided with one of the most momentous periods in the court\u2019s history, a time when the justices extended constitutional protections to Mexican Americans, refused to review the espionage convictions of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, and, in Brown v. Board<\/i>, held that segregated schools were \u201cinherently unequal\u201d and unconstitutional.<\/p>\n

As court crier, Mr. Hutchinson opened many of those consequential moments and, as if in a high school cafeteria, shepherded discreet notes to the justices, including messages sent from one end of the bench to the other.<\/p>\n

Decades later, he provided a window into the day-to-day activities of one of the government\u2019s most secretive bodies, said Clare Cushman, a historian for the Supreme Court Historical Society. Mr. Hutchinson could speak about the court\u2019s Christmas parties or the carpenter shop in its basement, or recall the way soldiers were deployed to the court building<\/a> following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe big pieces are always recorded,\u201d Cushman said, \u201cbut the little pieces, no.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Mr. Hutchinson, front left, with other Supreme Court pages and marshal\u2019s office staffers in 1938. (Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Mr. Hutchinson was 15 when he joined the court in 1938 as a page, one of the knicker-clad young people who would assist the justices. There were two requirements: You had to be short, according to Mr. Hutchinson, who grew to 5-foot-8, and you had to have a financial need.<\/p>\n

Mr. Hutchinson\u2019s father had died when he was an infant, and his meager page\u2019s salary helped support his mother and sister. He spent his afternoons in the Supreme Court, running books and water to the justices, before being drafted into the Army at age 19, dispatched to Europe in the final months of World War II.<\/p>\n

When he came home, he rejoined the court, working out of the marshal\u2019s office and eventually taking the job of crier, which dates to the Supreme Court\u2019s first meeting in 1790. He was given a handwritten script \u2014 the words of the opening proclamation, which concludes, \u201cGod save the United States and this honorable court\u201d \u2014 as well as a distinctive gavel.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no handle. All it was was the clonk,\u201d he recalled in a 2019 interview<\/a>. \u201cI said, \u2018Where\u2019s the handle?\u2019 They said, \u2018This is tradition. You\u2019ve got to use this.\u2019 So for 10 years I was banging like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

As crier, Mr. Hutchinson oversaw the pages, a group that grew to include Charles V. Bush<\/a>, the first Black Supreme Court page, who was hired in the aftermath of Brown v. Board <\/i>at the urging of Chief Justice Earl Warren.<\/p>\n

Mr. Hutchinson worked alongside the pages while assuming a sneakier job within the court each October. Many of the justices were baseball fans and wanted updates on the World Series, said Vance Morrison, a former page who as a teenager worked under Mr. Hutchinson. They would pass a paper to Mr. Hutchinson or a page, who would run to the offices, listen to the radio and quietly report the score.<\/p>

Read more To justify his arch, Trump cites a 1925 plan. That vision was very different.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe just worked with discretion,\u201d Morrison said.<\/p>\n

In October 1960, as the Supreme Court considered the conviction of a man who had failed to comply with the House\u2019s anti-communist investigations, Mr. Hutchinson helped Justice Potter Stewart follow along to Game 7 of the World Series, providing score updates every inning and, as the game neared its end, every half-inning. He delivered his final update to Stewart after Bill Mazeroski<\/a> hit a walk-off home run, giving the Pirates the win over the Yankees.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis eyes lit up and he sent the note down to the court,\u201d Mr. Hutchinson recalled.<\/p>\n

Mr. Hutchinson also shared a bond with Justice Felix Frankfurter, according to his daughter, Sara Hutchinson. One day, he was unexpectedly called into the justice\u2019s office to serve as a witness as Frankfurter finalized his will.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said, \u2018Have you ever faced death?\u2019 I said, \u2018What?\u2019 I had to think about it,\u201d Mr. Hutchinson recounted. \u201c\u2018I was in the service in World War II.\u2019 He laughed, he said, \u2018Here,\u2019 and he threw me his will.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Mr. Hutchinson in 2004. He worked as a Supreme Court docent late in his career. (Steve Petteway\/Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

George Edward Hutchinson, a fourth-generation Washingtonian \u2014 according to his family, two of his relatives were at Ford\u2019s Theatre the night of Lincoln\u2019s assassination \u2014 was born Aug. 31, 1923. His father was a lawyer, and his mother was a schoolteacher.<\/p>\n

While working at the Supreme Court, Mr. Hutchinson went to school part time, earning a law degree at George Washington University and ultimately becoming a member of the Supreme Court Bar.<\/p>\n

After leaving the court in 1962, he became the marshal and then the clerk of the U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals, where he was charged with saying \u201cHear ye\u201d instead of \u201cOyez.\u201d Two decades later, when the court merged with the Court of Claims to become the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, he was named its first clerk.<\/p>\n

Mr. Hutchinson retired from federal service in 1985 to join the law firm Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, where he remained on staff until 2023, the year he turned 100.<\/p>\n

Few people could recount the customs and procedures of the American court system like Mr. Hutchinson, said James Barney, managing partner at the firm.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always viewed George as a living history,\u201d Barney said.<\/p>\n

His death, at home in Arlington, was confirmed by his daughter, his only immediate survivor. <\/b>Mr. Hutchinson was predeceased by his wife of 63 years, Dorothy U. Hutchinson<\/a>, and by another daughter, Carol Hutchinson.<\/p>\n

In 2018, 80 years after he joined the Supreme Court as a page, Mr. Hutchinson returned to the courtroom as a visitor. \u201cHe remains a member in good standing of our bar,\u201d Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said from the bench. \u201cMr. Hutchinson, welcome back!\u201d<\/p>

Read more Fulham hires Alvaro Arbeloa as coach after departure from Real Madrid<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At age 15, he began working at the court as a page. He rose to become its crier, announcing the justices\u2019 arrival and gaveling the court to order.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6651,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nGeorge Hutchinson, the Supreme Court\u2019s last official crier, dies at 102 - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6655\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"George Hutchinson, the Supreme Court\u2019s last official crier, dies at 102 - Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"At age 15, he began working at the court as a page. He rose to become its crier, announcing the justices\u2019 arrival and gaveling the court to order.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6655\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-08T10:35:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/093d8359405d0400cbd96e3bee7cbca4-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2534\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6655#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6655\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"headline\":\"George Hutchinson, the Supreme Court\u2019s last official crier, dies at 102\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-08T10:35:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6655\"},\"wordCount\":1173,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6655#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/25afdb424628c204c1f20f7eb6437cbb-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6655#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6655\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6655\",\"name\":\"George Hutchinson, the Supreme Court\u2019s last official crier, dies at 102 - Moving Insider USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6655#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6655#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/25afdb424628c204c1f20f7eb6437cbb-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-08T10:35:43+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6655#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6655\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6655#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/25afdb424628c204c1f20f7eb6437cbb-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/25afdb424628c204c1f20f7eb6437cbb-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":2022,\"caption\":\"HANDOUT PHOTO: George Hutchinson in the 1950s. (Bob Higbie\\\/Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6655#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"George Hutchinson, the Supreme Court\u2019s last official crier, dies at 102\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Moving Insider USA\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"George Hutchinson, the Supreme Court\u2019s last official crier, dies at 102 - Moving Insider USA","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6655","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"George Hutchinson, the Supreme Court\u2019s last official crier, dies at 102 - Moving Insider USA","og_description":"At age 15, he began working at the court as a page. He rose to become its crier, announcing the justices\u2019 arrival and gaveling the court to order.","og_url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6655","og_site_name":"Moving Insider USA","article_published_time":"2026-07-08T10:35:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":2534,"url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/093d8359405d0400cbd96e3bee7cbca4-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6655#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6655"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03"},"headline":"George Hutchinson, the Supreme Court\u2019s last official crier, dies at 102","datePublished":"2026-07-08T10:35:43+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6655"},"wordCount":1173,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6655#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/25afdb424628c204c1f20f7eb6437cbb-scaled.jpg","articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6655#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6655","url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6655","name":"George Hutchinson, the Supreme Court\u2019s last official crier, dies at 102 - Moving Insider USA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6655#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6655#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/25afdb424628c204c1f20f7eb6437cbb-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-08T10:35:43+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6655#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6655"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6655#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/25afdb424628c204c1f20f7eb6437cbb-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/25afdb424628c204c1f20f7eb6437cbb-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":2022,"caption":"HANDOUT PHOTO: George Hutchinson in the 1950s. (Bob Higbie\/Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6655#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"George Hutchinson, the Supreme Court\u2019s last official crier, dies at 102"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/","name":"Moving Insider USA","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com"],"url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6655"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6655\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6651"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}