When you hear the name "Sutherland" around Utah, who comes to mind?  It most likely isn't George Sutherland, but it should be.

George Sutherland was a Utahn who has had as much influence, or perhaps even more, over our lives as any Utahn, past or present.  George Sutherland was a Utah legislator back in the 1890's. He was a congressman and U.S. Senator in the early 1900's.  And in 1922, he was appointed to the United States Supreme court by President Warren G. Harding, where he served until 1938  He is the only Utahn to ever sit on the High Court.

So what did this man do to affect our lives today?  A lot. Especially for a country boy who came across the plains with his parents, settled in Utah County, and saw, firsthand, the hard work and hardships of miners toiling in the Tintic mines.

George Sutherland championed the Workers Compensation laws, first getting such laws passed in the Utah Legislature and then in congress.  He believed it was only fair to place the burden for injuries and sickness of workers in dangerous jobs where it belonged.. on the employer who had no concern, in those days, for workplace safety.

He was a strong proponent of women's rights, both in the Utah legislature and Congress. In fact, it was Senator George Sutherland who framed and introduced in Congress the 19th Amendment to the Constitution.. the amendment that gave women the right to vote in the United States.  George Sutherland said it was "not fair, logical, or moral to exclude half the population from political participation simply because they happened to be born female."

And it was Congressman George Sutherland who was the chief proponent of the Reclamation Act that provided Federal funding for much need water projects, thus opening up the West to development.

George Sutherland, a Democrat from Utah?  No, not at all.  George Sutherland was a Republican from his first days in the Utah legislature until his death in 1942 .

So, why do I bring this up?  Because Saturday October 15, 2011, George Sutherland was the focal point of a black-tie dinner celebrating the 125th anniversary of the Salt Lake City law firm of Snow, Christensen & Martineau, a law firm that evolved from Sutherland's first partnership in the 1880's, "Thurman & Sutherland". At that dinner, a documentary on the life of George Sutherland was premiered, (my wife, Susan, was the writer. ( Yes, I am proud!) and you can see that film in its entirety on the Salt TV site. A Utah actor, Michael Bennett, gave a very realistic performance of George Sutherland recounting his political life and some of the very important decisions he wrote for the Supreme Court, decisions that still affect us today.  And a bigger than life sculpture of George Sutherland by Utah artist Stan Watts was unveiled. The statue will sit in the new Federal Courthouse that is being built in Salt Lake City.

That new Federal Courthouse will not be finished for two more years, and it will not be complete without a name. Considering all he did that remains with us today, the name of Justice George Sutherland would be an appropriate honor for the man, who few have ever heard of, but a man with an impact that shapes our nation today.