informally sent word to [President] Roosevelt that Biggs should not be permitted to argue any case the United States hoped to win. Attorney General Homer Cummings stepped in to ensure that important cases would be handled by attorneys outside the Solicitor General's office. Thus, even before the first New Deal case was argued in the Supreme Court, the Solicitor General—the person whose principal responsibility it is to represent the interests of the United States—was out. By the time a more capable successor took office, the New Deal was in deep legal trouble." (Cummings and Assistant Solicitor General Angus D. MacLean argued the Gold Clause Cases, which eventually marked some of the first successes for New Deal economic policies.) Biggs resigned on March 14, 1935. His successor (and future Supreme Court Justice) Stanley Reed was named his replacement on March 18 and confirmed by the Senate on March 25. Reed immediately set about dismissing several cert petitions filed by the government (e.g., Belcher v. United States) because the cases were poorly postured to result in opinions upholding the New Deal. Biggs returned to private practice in Raleigh in March 1935. Soon afterward, the government called upon Biggs for his expertise to assist the attorney general in the Northern Pacific Land Grant Case. He also served as chairman on the North Carolina Board of Elections, trustee of the UNC Methodist Orphanage, and a member of the executive committee and counsel of the American Red Cross, 1933-1935. Family and death He was married to Margie Jordan for 53 years, with whom he had one daughter, Marjorie. James Biggs died on January 30, 1960, at his home in Raleigh, North Carolina. References External links 1872 births 1960 deaths United States Solicitors General North Carolina lawyers People from Oxford, North Carolina Members of the North Carolina House of Representatives North Carolina state court judges University of North Carolina School of Law alumni North Carolina Tar Heels football players American football ends 19th-century players of American football