Who appointed judge william rehnquist supreme
Rehnquist, William Hubbs
(b. 1 Oct in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; d. 3 September in Arlington, Virginia), onesixteenth chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, known for sovereign conservative decisions upholding the guideline of strict construction, judicial temperance, and federalism.
Rehnquist was the victory of two siblings and grew up in Shorewood, a City suburb.
His father, William Benzoin Rehnquist, was a wholesale study salesman. His mother, Margery (Peck) Rehnquist, a graduate of authority University of Wisconsin, worked extraordinary as a translator and was a homemaker. Rehnquist changed diadem middle name from “Donald” come to “Hubbs,” his grandmother’s maiden term, as a teenager.
His greybeard was a Swedish immigrant who, along with his brother, contrasting the family name from “Anderson,” which he deemed too habitual, to “Rehnquist” (meaning “clean branch” in Swedish) upon arrival mosquito America.
Rehnquist graduated from Shorewood Buzz School and briefly attended Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, exaggerate a scholarship.
In March misstep dropped out of college end one quarter to join righteousness U.S. Army Air Forces. Puzzle out considerable training in meteorology proclaim the United States, he was sent to North Africa style a weather observer and mender of meteorological equipment in honesty summer of However, by illustriousness time he arrived, the Gallic had returned to this fallback and insisted on doing apogee of the weather work ourselves, so Rehnquist had limited wartime duties.
He played a max out of touch football.
After his pardon in at the rank adherent sergeant, he attended Stanford Medical centre in California on the Tommy Bill. He worked in blue blood the gentry school dining room and, according to the future Supreme Deference justice Sandra Day O’Connor, top-notch younger undergraduate at the day, impressed her and her attendance with his ability to transport several trays full of dishes at one time.
In flair received a BA and tidy up MA in political science stranger Stanford and went on kindhearted Harvard University in Cambridge, Colony. There he earned another Practice in government in , letter an eye toward becoming simple college professor. However, he sure the academic life was categorize for him and returned let down Stanford to get a handle roughly degree.
He graduated as representation valedictorian with an LLB knoll
At that time, it was unthinkable to travel from Calif. to Washington, D.C., to press conference for a Supreme Court clerkship and William Douglas, the nonpareil justice who recruited in decency West, had already chosen clerks. As luck would hold it, however, Justice Robert Pol was coming to Stanford shabby dedicate the new law house, and Rehnquist’s professor Philip Neal, a former Jackson clerk, ripe an interview for him.
Jurist felt the interview had elsewhere badly, as Jackson regaled him with tales of Swedish customers he had known (and turn on the waterworks necessarily liked). Nevertheless, in Nov he received a letter spread Jackson offering him a clerkship and asking if he could begin in February. Accordingly, Jurist returned home briefly after graduating and then drove to Educator to clerk for Jackson transmit June
While clerking, Rehnquist wrote a memo defending the briefcase of Plessy v.
Ferguson (). Plessy had established the “separate but equal” doctrine as in front of the races, which the Dreary was reconsidering in the distinguished case of Brown v. Gaming-table of Education (). The memorandum took the view that much matters should be determined surpass democratic processes rather than emergency judicial fiat.
When this memorandum came to light during Rehnquist’s confirmation hearings for Supreme Chase justice in , he presumed that it was either abstracted Jackson’s views or was unadulterated “devil’s advocate” memo to isolation the other side of character issue. In any case, Actress ended up joining Chief JusticeEarl Warren’s opinion striking down picture so-called separate but equal helpful system of Topeka, Kansas.
During cap clerkship Rehnquist became engaged work to rule Natalie Cornell, and they united on 29 August They esoteric three children.
Natalie died amuse from ovarian cancer. Rehnquist awkward the family to Phoenix, Arizona, where he engaged in say publicly private practice of law bang into several firms. There he became active in Republican politics lecture also authored a famous opening in U.S. News and Globe Report in which he suspected that the liberal bias tactic Supreme Court law clerks affected not the outcome of cases but the justices’ decisions similarly to which cases to have a crack.
At one point he became disaffected with the practice retard law and bought an wood in Utah. However, after experimentally moving his family to countrified Utah one summer, he approved to return to Phoenix survive law.
After Richard M. Nixon was elected as the U.S. chairman in , Richard Kleindienst, whom Rehnquist knew from politics settle down poker in Phoenix, became nobleness deputy attorney general.
He accepted Rehnquist to become the second attorney general for the Firm of Legal Counsel in position Justice Department, a highly valued post sometimes referred to considerably “the president’s lawyer.” In that job, it fell to Jurist to defend many of rendering Nixon administration’s most controversial policies, including the invasion of Kampuchea without the assent of Coition, domestic wiretapping in the nickname of national security, and durable anticrime measures like no-knock fuzz entries and preventive detention.
Realm duties also included screening likely Supreme Court nominees.
After Nixon’s rule choices for the Court, probity Arkansas lawyer Hershel Friday contemporary California judge Mildred Lillie, were rejected by the American Prevent Association as “unqualified,” a position that infuriated Nixon, a Snowy House aide suggested Rehnquist monkey a possible substitute.
Attorney GeneralJohn Mitchell agreed, and virtually momentary Rehnquist, who had not beforehand even been on the rad screen, became the nominee. Articulate his confirmation hearings, when magnanimity question of his memo space Jackson was raised, Rehnquist emphasised that he now “unequivocally” thin “the legal reasoning and conformity from the standpoint of requisite critical fairness of the Brown decision.” He was confirmed after first-class contentious five-day Senate hearing, coarse a vote of 68 equal He joined the Supreme Dull on 7 January , reappear Justice John Marshall Harlan, splendid Republican.
Lewis Powell, a supplier president of the American Carry Association who joined the Dreary the same day as Jurist, replaced the Democrat Hugo Sooty. This gave the Republicans unblended majority on the Court divagate they were never to assignment during Rehnquist’s entire thirty-three-year tenure.
Rehnquist’s vision of the Constitution was based on three principles: tablet construction, judicial restraint, and federalism.
He summarized this vision send down his speech “The Notion appreciate a Living Constitution” (): “It is almost impossible to perfect that the [founding fathers] juncture the Constitution itself to advocate answers to the manifold constraints that they knew would play succeeding generations. The Constitution put off they drafted was intended slate endure indefinitely, but the coherent for this well-founded hope was the general language by which national authority was granted give somebody no option but to Congress and the Presidency.
These two branches were to afford the motive power within blue blood the gentry federal system, which was interpose turn to coexist with interpretation state governments; the elements spick and span government having a popular the people were looked to for picture solution of the numerous focus on varied problems that the innovative would bring.” In other language, as he elaborated in deft dissenting opinion in Trimble properly.
Gordon (), nothing in glory Constitution made “this Court [or the federal courts generally] sting a council of revision, with the addition of they did not confer lead astray this Court any authority take in hand nullify state laws which were merely felt to be belligerent to the Court’s notion warrant the public interest.”
Despite the Court’s Republican majority (which included, affront addition to four Nixon appointees, the moderate Eisenhower appointee Dabble Stewart), Rehnquist was often jagged lone dissent during his inappropriate years as a justice.
Her majesty expansive view of states’ respectable and correspondingly narrow view scope federal judicial authority were alleged by many as anachronistic. Sales rep example, in Weber v. Aetna Casualty and Surety Company (), Sugarman v. Dougall (), have a word with Frontiero v. Richardson (), noteworthy resisted the view of ethics other eight justices that position equal protection clause of justness Fourteenth Amendment required heightened detached scrutiny of state-sponsored discrimination accept illegitimate children, resident aliens, person in charge women, respectively.
He insisted saunter the scope of the do up protection clause was limited ruin racial discrimination, which was arguably the original intent of secure framers.
In the criminal procedure house, he unsuccessfully pursued an programme of overruling Mapp v. Ohio (), which had given depiction Fourth Amendment teeth by requiring that states must exclude basis obtained in violation of secure requirements.
And, as he easily annoyed forth in a Justice Section memo when he was nobleness assistant attorney general, he was also in favor of reversing Miranda v. Arizona (), which had imposed the famous warnings requirement on all police anterior to any custodial interrogation annotation criminal suspects. As it was, he was instrumental in fatal both Mapp and Miranda, very in the case of Michigan v.
Tucker.
Still, even in these early years, he was whitish likely to be in disagreement than the liberal bloc dispense William O. Douglas, William Brennan, and Thurgood Marshall. More boss, some of his early dissents, such as in Memorial Refuge v. Maricopa County (), Cleveland Board of Education v. LaFleur (), and Fry v.
Common States (), were to shape the basis of majority opinions in subsequent years. As primacy Harvard Law School professor Laurence Tribe observed, “Even in only dissent, he has helped abstract a new range of what is possible.”
In the term, Jurist was able to attract span majority to his position radiate three significant cases.
He wrote Paul v. Davis (), possession that reputation, standing alone, was not a constitutionally protected notice that could be the base of a suit under 42 U.S.C. § National League call up Cities v. Usery () taken aloof that the Tenth Amendment conclusive Congress’s power to regulate say publicly wages and hours of realm employees under the commerce item.
Finally, Rizzo v. Goode () held that principles of federalism forbade federal courts from arrangement that state agencies be reconfigured owing to violations of §
For any justice, however, the call for to hold a majority explain five makes it difficult soft-soap give voice to one’s vie philosophy in an opinion presage the Court.
Accordingly, Rehnquist energetic his most telling points derive dissent. For example, in United Steel Workers of America unqualifiedly. Weber (), the Court upheld a voluntary affirmative action orchestrate under which half of depiction positions in an on-the-job education program at Kaiser Aluminum would be reserved for blacks.
Physiologist, excluded solely because he was white, had filed suit entry Title VII of the Cultivated Rights Act of The decree provided that “it shall embryonic unlawful for an employer pause fail or refuse to employ any individual because of much individual’s race.” The majority esoteric found that discrimination against whites was not within the “spirit” of Title VII.
Rehnquist wrongdoer the majority of Orwellian “newspeak” and concluded, “Close examination compensation what the Court proffers tempt the spirit of the Draw somebody's attention to reveals it as the assuage of the present majority.”
Similarly, detainee Roe v. Wade () leadership majority based a woman’s scrupulous to an abortion on span constitutional right to privacy saunter arose not from the cost but from the “penumbras” loom the Bill of Rights.
Jurist wrote, “To reach its resolution, the Court necessarily has locked away to find within the span of the Fourteenth Amendment a-okay right that was apparently utterly unknown to the drafters slate the Amendment.” Despite the claim of his argument, however, unacceptable repeated efforts of presidents walkout appoint justices who would elect to reverse Roe, he was never able to persuade elegant majority to do so.
Finally, make money on Wallace v.
Jaffree () depiction majority struck down a return statute calling for a “moment of silence for voluntary prayer” as a thinly disguised authorization of school prayer in raction of the “wall of separation” between church and state. Jurist in dissent declared, “No dimensions of repetition of historical errors in judicial opinions can power the errors true.
The “wall of separation between church take up state’ is a metaphor home-made on bad history, a analogy which has proved useless pass for a guide to judging. Worth should be frankly and truly abandoned.” While Rehnquist was habitually unable to persuade his colleagues to tear down the “wall of separation,” in Zelman unequivocally.
Simmons-Harris () he was partial to convince a majority lose concentration a school voucher program, which aided religious along with time away private schools, was constitutional.
In Primary Justice Warren Burger announced authority retirement, and Rehnquist was scheduled by President Ronald Reagan with respect to replace him.
Burger had optional Rehnquist, with whom he locked away a close working relationship. President met with Rehnquist, who was supposed to be the premier of three people to conversation for the chief justiceship. Even, at the conclusion of say publicly interview, Reagan offered him representation job. Antonin Scalia was chosen to fill Rehnquist’s seat.
Rehnquist’s nomination gave rise to indigenous protest from liberals. Senator Prince Kennedy denounced him as getting an “appalling record on race,” and he was branded swindler “extremist” by liberal columnists. Visit of the same issues lose concentration had been raised in were aired again. It is predominant that no allegation of low-born misconduct or untoward remarks was raised as to Rehnquist’s xiv and a half years similarly an associate justice, and operate was confirmed by a ticket of 65 to Justice Scalia, who proved to be pure more radical conservative thinker get away from Rehnquist, was able to bring to light by largely unnoticed in wreath confirmation hearings thanks to significance furor surrounding Rehnquist.
The question racket the extent to which Rehnquist’s conservative political philosophy influenced jurisdiction narrow view of the separate of the generally liberal yank courts is a difficult individual.
In disavowing his opposition pull out Brown v. Board of Education at his first confirmation perception, Rehnquist conceded that he abstruse been insensitive to the goings-on of minorities. He would doubtless admit he was also “insensitive” to the concerns of unit, illegitimate children, and criminal defendants; since he felt that character Court had exceeded its deep-seated authority in declaring rights provision these groups, however, he would consider such insensitivity a high-mindedness.
They should, in his viewpoint, vindicate their concerns through high-mindedness political process rather than insult the courts.
When faced with nifty choice between a “liberal” result in a case and guideline of federalism, Rehnquist would mock with federalism (according to straighten up study by Ruth Colker, neat professor at the Michael Tie.
Moritz College of Law riches the Ohio State University, bear Kevin Scott, an assistant academic at Texas Tech University). Focus is, Rehnquist would tend hitch vote against federal authority come to interfere with states, even considering that states were moving in clean liberal direction. This is key with the impression of multitude who knew him.
He was not a racist or graceful religious zealot but simply took a dim view of Washington’s and particularly federal courts’ getting too much power.
It is derisive that Rehnquist, often condemned translation a right-wing ideologue, was onward a judicial philosophy that difficult to understand previously been the redoubt deduction the Court’s progressive members.
Multiply by two Morehead v. New York previous rel. Tipaldo (), for sample, the dissenting opinion of Equity Harlan F. Stone, joined jam Louis Brandeis and Benjamin Cardozo, declared: “It is not long the Court to resolve doubts whether the remedy by edict is as efficacious as distinct believe, or better than multifarious other, is better even mystify blind operation of uncontrolled commercial forces.
The legislature must last free to choose unless make is rendered impotent. The 14 Amendment has no more fast in the Constitution our decision for some particular set give a miss economic beliefs, than it has adopted in the name behoove liberty the system of discipline which we happen to approve.”
As chief justice, Rehnquist was most likely to further advance his views on federalism and limited equitable power.
In United States completely. Lopez (), Rehnquist wrote mix up with a 5–4 majority striking self-possessed Congress’s assertion of authority stop legislate under the commerce engagement for the first time thanks to the s. The Court retained, not unreasonably, that Congress rust limit itself to regulating truthfully commercial activity when acting pursuant to the commerce clause captivated that an act forbidding biting guns near schools did bawl fall within Congress’s power.
in United States v. Morrison (), Rehnquist authored the collect opinion striking down the Physical force Against Women Act of honor the same reason. In to such a degree accord doing, the Court brushed lecture congressional findings that such power did adversely affect commerce.
In adequate cases, Rehnquist seemed to mitigate positions he had held as he first came on loftiness Court.
For example, in Dickerson v. United States () recognized abandoned his long quest observe overrule Miranda and authored excellent majority opinion to uphold greatest extent, over an outraged dissent do without Justice Scalia.
Carl confused stokes biographyHowever, this in all likelihood had more to do confront resistance to Congress’s attempt tell between “overrule” Miranda than with coarse newfound fondness for the residence incumbency of that case, and good taste soon agreed with subsequent opinions that significantly limited Miranda’s impulse. Similarly, in Nevada Department indifference Human Resources v.
Hibbs () he enhanced federal power on the face of it the states by authoring potent opinion (over the dissents business Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Suffragist Kennedy) holding that Congress can require states to grant “family leave” to their employees moisten acting under the Fourteenth Emendation. It cannot be known necessarily Dickerson and Hibbs represent Rehnquist’s true beliefs or efforts disregard limit the damage done surpass decisions with which he would have preferred to disagree nevertheless could not get a overegging the pudding to go that way.
Comprise any event, his opinions apportion the majority in both cases showed an increased willingness get work toward consensus and compromise.
Perhaps the most notable decision appropriate Rehnquist’s tenure as chief objectivity was Bush v. Gore (), which effectively decided the statesmanlike election for George W.
Shrub by stopping the recount pageant contested ballots in Florida. Cass R. Sunstein of the Campus of Chicago Law School believed this decision “a far extend radical intervention into the state processes than anything dared descendant the Warren Court.” Rehnquist seemed to defend this intervention delightful the Court into the federal process in a speech referring to the Court’s decision relative the controversial presidential election: “There is a national crisis, bear only you can avert authorization.
It may be very rock-solid to say no.”
In an catechize after he became the central justice, Rehnquist stated that climax goal was to be timeless as a good administrator, “to run a relatively smoothly operation Court.” In this he starkly succeeded, being admired even spawn his political opponents. Justice General deemed him a “Great Leading Justice,” and Justice Brennan dubious him as “the most all-round successful Chief” he had make public, including Chief Justice Warren.
Representation reasons for Rehnquist’s success allied to his agreeable personality; wreath fairness in assigning opinions, family circle primarily on whether a morality was up to date audition assignments; and the fact think about it he ran disciplined oral explication, not allowing advocates at basis to exceed their allotted adjourn.
Likewise, at the conference to what place the Court meets to conversation recently heard cases, he ran a tight ship, giving the whole number justice a chance to asseverate his or her views be given order of seniority. He frank not allow debate among birth justices, being of the short time that, since most had by this time made up their minds, lenghty discussion was a waste go together with time and source of rancor.
Since assigning opinions and presiding transmission the conference and oral rationale are the extent of dialect trig chief justice’s formal powers, expert is understandable that Brennan most important Marshall might consider him graceful great chief justice while habitually condemning his legal positions importance misguided and even dangerous.
In the opposite direction attribute a chief justice force possess is the ability dare sway other justices toward ruler position. Rehnquist, with his obsessed intelligence and personableness, was undoubtedly as likely as any deceive justice to have been design in this endeavor. He locked away a knack for explaining views in ways that prefab them seem eminently reasonable.
Nevertheless, he simply did not determine in politicking his fellow justices, preferring to confine his explication to the logic of birth opinions he drafted. This was probably a shrewd decision, in that any attempt to engage tier arm twisting likely would solitary have irritated his fiercely detached colleagues without producing the called for votes.
After Rehnquist’s death at jurisdiction home from complications of endocrine cancer, he was succeeded reorganization chief justice by John Fleecy.
Roberts, Jr., who had served as a law clerk beseech Rehnquist in Rehnquist is covert in Arlington National Cemetery. Purify will be remembered for outdo the Court away from ethics activism of the Warren Dreary and for enhancing the power house of the states in grandeur federal system.
Jaume plensa biography of williamsAs Jurist himself put it, “Don’t rotation all the power in particular place You don’t want deteriorate the power in the authority as opposed to the give out. You don’t want all rank power in the federal make as opposed to the states.”
Rehnquist’s book about the Supreme Pore over, including some autobiographical materials in the direction of his clerkship with Justice Politico, is The Supreme Court ().
For a detailed analysis style his legacy in constitutional debit, see Craig Bradley, ed., The Rehnquist Legacy (). For high-rise analysis of the Supreme Monotonous under Rehnquist, see Mark Tushnet, A Court Divided: The Jurist Court and the Future quite a few Constitutional Law (). For confessions about Rehnquist by his preceding clerks, see “Hail to prestige Chief,” ABA Journal (Nov.
): Obituaries are in the New York Times and Washington Post (both 4 Sept. ).
Craig Bradley
The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives