Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Jr. (1841–1935), U.S. jurist, Supreme Court justice (1902–32). He is often called the Great Dissenter, but this reflects the significance rather than the number of his dissenting judgments. In Lochner v. New York (1905) and Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918) he reinforced arguments for legislative checks on the economy. His dissent in Abrams v. United States (1919) was a powerful defense of free speech.