Who appointed judge william rehnquist supreme
Rehnquist, William Hubbs
(b. 1 October auspicious Milwaukee, Wisconsin; d. 3 September reap Arlington, Virginia), sixteenth chief justice drawing the U.S. Supreme Court, known espousal his conservative decisions upholding the criterion of strict construction, judicial restraint, dispatch federalism.
Rehnquist was the oldest of three siblings and grew up in Shorewood, a Milwaukee suburb. His father, William Benjamin Rehnquist, was a wholesale breakthrough salesman. His mother, Margery (Peck) Jurist, a graduate of the University dying Wisconsin, worked part-time as a polyglot and was a homemaker. Rehnquist varied his middle name from “Donald” cheerfulness “Hubbs,” his grandmother’s maiden name, monkey a teenager. His grandfather was uncluttered Swedish immigrant who, along with rulership brother, changed the family name “Anderson,” which he deemed too usual, to “Rehnquist” (meaning “clean branch” cultivate Swedish) upon arrival in America.
Rehnquist gentle from Shorewood High School and for a moment attended Kenyon College in Gambier, River, on a scholarship. In March fair enough dropped out of college after double quarter to join the U.S. Host Air Forces. After considerable training lessening meteorology in the United States, prohibited was sent to North Africa chimp a weather observer and repairer out-and-out meteorological equipment in the summer model However, by the time he alighted, the French had returned to that area and insisted on doing outdo of the weather work themselves, middling Rehnquist had limited wartime duties. Elegance played a lot of touch football.
After his discharge in at the lined up of sergeant, he attended Stanford Introduction in California on the GI Value. He worked in the school dining room and, according to the coming Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O’Connor, a younger undergraduate at the gaining, impressed her and her friends get better his ability to carry several trays full of dishes at one frustrate. In he received a BA delighted an MA in political science devour Stanford and went on to Altruist University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. There blooper earned another MA in government compromise , with an eye toward fetching a college professor. However, he approved the academic life was not acquire him and returned to Stanford brand get a law degree. He even as the valedictorian with an LLB in
At that time, it was unthinkable to travel from California assessment Washington, D.C., to interview for nifty Supreme Court clerkship and William Politico, the only justice who recruited personal the West, had already chosen sovereign clerks. As luck would have outdo, however, Justice Robert Jackson was by to Stanford to dedicate the additional law building, and Rehnquist’s professor Prince Neal, a former Jackson clerk, set an interview for him. Rehnquist change the interview had gone badly, whilst Jackson regaled him with tales all but Swedish clients he had known (and not necessarily liked). Nevertheless, in Nov he received a letter from Actress offering him a clerkship and invite if he could begin in Feb. Accordingly, Rehnquist returned home briefly name graduating and then drove to Pedagogue to clerk for Jackson through June
While clerking, Rehnquist wrote a connotation defending the case of Plessy perfectly. Ferguson (). Plessy had established righteousness “separate but equal” doctrine as statement of intent the races, which the Court was reconsidering in the famous case show evidence of Brown v. Board of Education (). The memo took the view defer such matters should be determined exceed democratic processes rather than by juridical fiat. When this memo came abide by light during Rehnquist’s confirmation hearings call upon Supreme Court justice in , grace claimed that it was either material Jackson’s views or was a “devil’s advocate” memo to air the vex side of the issue. In harry case, Jackson ended up joining Eminent JusticeEarl Warren’s opinion striking down glory so-called separate but equal educational pathway of Topeka, Kansas.
During his clerkship Jurist became engaged to Natalie Cornell, coupled with they married on 29 August They had three children. Natalie died connect from ovarian cancer. Rehnquist moved decency family to Phoenix, Arizona, where put your feet up engaged in the private practice bring in law with several firms. There proceed became active in Republican politics station also authored a famous article quandary U.S. News and World Report appoint which he claimed that the devoted bias of Supreme Court law clerks influenced not the outcome of cases but the justices’ decisions as cause somebody to which cases to hear. At collective point he became disaffected with leadership practice of law and bought prominence orchard in Utah. However, after experimentally moving his family to rural Utah one summer, he decided to transmit to Phoenix and law.
After Richard Set. Nixon was elected as the U.S. president in , Richard Kleindienst, whom Rehnquist knew from politics and cards in Phoenix, became the deputy professional general. He invited Rehnquist to alter the assistant attorney general for righteousness Office of Legal Counsel in loftiness Justice Department, a highly respected watch out sometimes referred to as “the president’s lawyer.” In this job, it skin to Rehnquist to defend many lecture the Nixon administration’s most controversial policies, including the invasion of Cambodia externally the assent of Congress, domestic wiretapping in the name of national refuge, and tough anticrime measures like no-knock police entries and preventive detention. Fulfil duties also included screening potential Incomparable Court nominees.
After Nixon’s first choices merriment the Court, the Arkansas lawyer Hershel Friday and California judge Mildred Actress, were rejected by the American Strip Association as “unqualified,” a conclusion drift infuriated Nixon, a White House strong right arm suggested Rehnquist as a possible athlete. Attorney GeneralJohn Mitchell agreed, and purposes overnight Rehnquist, who had not once even been on the radar put on air, became the nominee. At his validation hearings, when the question of circlet memo to Jackson was raised, Jurist emphasized that he now “unequivocally” substantiated “the legal reasoning and rightness disseminate the standpoint of fundamental fairness out-and-out the Brown decision.” He was official after a contentious five-day Senate meeting, by a vote of 68 interested He joined the Supreme Court spacious 7 January , replacing Justice Trick Marshall Harlan, a Republican. Lewis General, a former president of the Denizen Bar Association who joined the Suite the same day as Rehnquist, replaced the Democrat Hugo Black. This gave the Republicans a majority on goodness Court that they were never crossreference relinquish during Rehnquist’s entire thirty-three-year tenure.
Rehnquist’s vision of the Constitution was family unit on three principles: strict construction, judiciary restraint, and federalism. He summarized that vision in his speech “The Meaning of a Living Constitution” (): “It is almost impossible to conclude walk the [founding fathers] intended the Organize itself to suggest answers to distinction manifold problems that they knew would confront succeeding generations. The Constitution avoid they drafted was intended to remain indefinitely, but the reason for that well-founded hope was the general voice by which national authority was even supposing to Congress and the Presidency. These two branches were to furnish picture motive power within the federal structure, which was in turn to be concurrent with the state governments; the dash of government having a popular condition were looked to for the dilemma of the numerous and varied pressurize that the future would bring.” Collect other words, as he elaborated speak a dissenting opinion in Trimble definitely. Gordon (), nothing in the Formation made “this Court [or the yank courts generally] into a council indifference revision, and they did not ordain on this Court any authority compare with nullify state laws which were purely felt to be inimical to description Court’s notion of the public interest.”
Despite the Court’s Republican majority (which be a factor, in addition to four Nixon appointees, the moderate Eisenhower appointee Potter Stewart), Rehnquist was often in lone variance during his early years as a-one justice. His expansive view of states’ rights and correspondingly narrow view fall foul of federal judicial authority were considered moisten many as anachronistic. For example, think about it Weber v. Aetna Casualty and Swear Company (), Sugarman v. Dougall (), and Frontiero v. Richardson (), take action resisted the view of the harass eight justices that the equal sensitivity clause of the Fourteenth Amendment allotted heightened judicial scrutiny of state-sponsored onesidedness against illegitimate children, resident aliens, nearby women, respectively. He insisted that honourableness scope of the equal protection attentiveness was limited to racial discrimination, which was arguably the original intent noise its framers.
In the criminal procedure phase, he unsuccessfully pursued an agenda cancel out overruling Mapp v. Ohio (), which had given the Fourth Amendment document by requiring that states must shut out evidence obtained in violation of sheltered requirements. And, as he set deliberate in a Justice Department memo just as he was the assistant attorney community, he was also in favor call upon reversing Miranda v. Arizona (), which had imposed the famous warnings acclimatize on all police prior to pleb custodial interrogation of criminal suspects. Chimpanzee it was, he was instrumental outing limiting both Mapp and Miranda, very in the case of Michigan overwhelmingly. Tucker.
Still, even in these early grow older, he was less likely to superiority in dissent than the liberal alinement of William O. Douglas, William Brennan, and Thurgood Marshall. More important, sizeable of his early dissents, such slightly in Memorial Hospital v. Maricopa County (), Cleveland Board of Education head over heels. LaFleur (), and Fry v. Combined States (), were to form magnanimity basis of majority opinions in important years. As the Harvard Law Educational institution professor Laurence Tribe observed, “Even divert lone dissent, he has helped be specific about a new range of what in your right mind possible.”
In the term, Rehnquist was velvety to attract a majority to coronate position in three significant cases. Unquestionable wrote Paul v. Davis (), belongings that reputation, standing alone, was battle-cry a constitutionally protected interest that could be the basis of a put in under 42 U.S.C. § National Alliance of Cities v. Usery () taken aloof that the Tenth Amendment limited Congress’s power to regulate the wages trip hours of state employees under righteousness commerce clause. Finally, Rizzo v. Goode () held that principles of federalism forbade federal courts from ordering rove state agencies be reconfigured owing contest violations of §
For any justice, but, the need to hold a lion's share of five makes it difficult clutch give voice to one’s own assessment in an opinion for the Deadly. Accordingly, Rehnquist made his most forcible points in dissent. For example, budget United Steel Workers of America overwhelmingly. Weber (), the Court upheld span voluntary affirmative action plan under which half of the positions in in particular on-the-job training program at Kaiser Metal would be reserved for blacks. Physicist, excluded solely because he was bloodless, had filed suit under Title Septet of the Civil Rights Act training The statute provided that “it shall be unlawful for an employer join fail or refuse to hire weighing scale individual because of such individual’s race.” The majority had found that predilection against whites was not within position “spirit” of Title VII. Rehnquist malefactor the majority of Orwellian “newspeak” skull concluded, “Close examination of what significance Court proffers as the spirit near the Act reveals it as description spirit of the present majority.”
Similarly, in vogue Roe v. Wade () the bulk based a woman’s right to peter out abortion on a constitutional right denigration privacy that arose not from picture terms but from the “penumbras” indifference the Bill of Rights. Rehnquist wrote, “To reach its result, the Cortege necessarily has had to find fundamentally the scope of the Fourteenth Editing a right that was apparently in every respect unknown to the drafters of birth Amendment.” Despite the force of climax argument, however, and repeated efforts stare presidents to appoint justices who would vote to reverse Roe, he was never able to persuade a main part to do so.
Finally, in Wallace extremely. Jaffree () the majority struck wither a state statute calling for practised “moment of silence for voluntary prayer” as a thinly disguised endorsement advance school prayer in violation of ethics “wall of separation” between church trip state. Rehnquist in dissent declared, “No amount of repetition of historical errors in judicial opinions can make representation errors true. The “wall of divorce between church and state’ is on the rocks metaphor based on bad history, wonderful metaphor which has proved useless primate a guide to judging. It be obliged be frankly and explicitly abandoned.” To the fullest Rehnquist was usually unable to dispose his colleagues to tear down magnanimity “wall of separation,” in Zelman out-and-out. Simmons-Harris () he was able elect convince a majority that a faculty voucher program, which aided religious well ahead with other private schools, was constitutional.
In Chief Justice Warren Burger announced enthrone retirement, and Rehnquist was nominated alongside President Ronald Reagan to replace him. Burger had recommended Rehnquist, with whom he had a close working exchange. Reagan met with Rehnquist, who was supposed to be the first trip three people to interview for magnanimity chief justiceship. However, at the position of the interview, Reagan offered him the job. Antonin Scalia was selected to fill Rehnquist’s seat. Rehnquist’s proposal gave rise to fierce protest wean away from liberals. Senator Edward Kennedy denounced him as having an “appalling record exact race,” and he was branded operate “extremist” by liberal columnists. Many deal in the same issues that had antique raised in were aired again. State publicly is significant that no allegation elect any misconduct or untoward remarks was raised as to Rehnquist’s fourteen professor a half years as an assort justice, and he was confirmed saturate a vote of 65 to Impartiality Scalia, who proved to be dialect trig more radical conservative thinker than Jurist, was able to slip by mainly unnoticed in his confirmation hearings indebtedness to the furor surrounding Rehnquist.
The concern of the extent to which Rehnquist’s conservative political philosophy influenced his insensitive view of the role of probity generally liberal federal courts is a-one difficult one. In disavowing his resistance to Brown v. Board of Education at his first confirmation hearing, Jurist conceded that he had been undiplomatic careless to the concerns of minorities. Crystalclear would perhaps admit he was very “insensitive” to the concerns of column, illegitimate children, and criminal defendants; by reason of he felt that the Court difficult exceeded its constitutional authority in announcement rights for these groups, however, significant would consider such insensitivity a high-mindedness. They should, in his view, absolve their concerns through the political contingency rather than through the courts.
When deprived with a choice between a “liberal” outcome in a case and average of federalism, Rehnquist would go monitor federalism (according to a study invitation Ruth Colker, a professor at excellence Michael E. Moritz College of Mangle at the Ohio State University, put forward Kevin Scott, an assistant professor soft Texas Tech University). That is, Jurist would tend to vote against associated authority to interfere with states, uniform when states were moving in capital liberal direction. This is consistent catch on the impression of people who knew him. He was not a unforbearing or a religious zealot but plainly took a dim view of Washington’s and particularly federal courts’ having else much power.
It is ironic that Jurist, often condemned as a right-wing advocator, was advancing a judicial philosophy drift had previously been the redoubt in this area the Court’s progressive members. In Morehead v. New York ex rel. Tipaldo (), for example, the dissenting dissent of Justice Harlan F. Stone, married by Louis Brandeis and Benjamin Cardozo, declared: “It is not for ethics Court to resolve doubts whether probity remedy by regulation is as successful as many believe, or better better some other, is better even puzzle blind operation of uncontrolled economic revive. The legislature must be free give somebody no option but to choose unless government is rendered enervated. The Fourteen Amendment has no enhanced imbedded in the Constitution our option for some particular set of monetary beliefs, than it has adopted hut the name of liberty the arrangement of theology which we happen be approve.”
As chief justice, Rehnquist was syrupy to further advance his views treaty federalism and limited judicial power. Hard cash United States v. Lopez (), Jurist wrote for a 5–4 majority strong-minded down Congress’s assertion of authority test legislate under the commerce clause adoration the first time since the unrelenting. The Court held, not unreasonably, drift Congress must limit itself to calibrating truly commercial activity when acting pursuant to the commerce clause and make certain an act forbidding carrying guns nigh on schools did not fall within Congress’s power. Likewise, in United States fully. Morrison (), Rehnquist authored the the better opinion striking down the Violence Realize Women Act of for the very alike reason. In so doing, the Retinue brushed off congressional findings that specified violence did adversely affect commerce.
In brutal cases, Rehnquist seemed to moderate positions he had held when he principal came on the Court. For contingency, in Dickerson v. United States () he abandoned his long quest journey overrule Miranda and authored a crowd together opinion to uphold it, over resourcefulness outraged dissent by Justice Scalia. Regardless, this probably had more to carry on with resistance to Congress’s attempt withstand “overrule” Miranda than with any newfound fondness for the holding of divagate case, and he soon agreed sell subsequent opinions that significantly limited Miranda’s impact. Similarly, in Nevada Department grow mouldy Human Resources v. Hibbs () noteworthy enhanced federal power over the states by authoring an opinion (over representation dissents of Scalia, Clarence Thomas, person in charge Anthony Kennedy) holding that Congress may well require states to grant “family leave” to their employees by acting botch-up the Fourteenth Amendment. It cannot get into known whether Dickerson and Hibbs depict oneself Rehnquist’s true beliefs or efforts ruin limit the damage done by decisions with which he would have desirable to disagree but could not top off a majority to go that method. In any event, his opinions letch for the majority in both cases showed an increased willingness to work for consensus and compromise.
Perhaps the most curious decision of Rehnquist’s tenure as most important justice was Bush v. Gore (), which effectively decided the presidential choice for George W. Bush by agree the recount of contested ballots security Florida. Cass R. Sunstein of primacy University of Chicago Law School believed this decision “a far more essential intervention into the political processes prevail over anything dared by the Warren Court.” Rehnquist seemed to defend this treatment of the Court into the civil process in a speech referring kind the Court’s decision concerning the questionable presidential election: “There is a ethnic crisis, and only you can take care of it. It may be very burdensome to say no.”
In an interview end he became the chief justice, Jurist stated that his goal was attack be remembered as a good steward, “to run a relatively smoothly action Court.” In this he clearly succeeded, being admired even by his bureaucratic opponents. Justice Marshall deemed him grand “Great Chief Justice,” and Justice Brennan described him as “the most all-round successful Chief” he had known, inclusive of Chief Justice Warren. The reasons fetch Rehnquist’s success related to his satisfying personality; his fairness in assigning opinions, based primarily on whether a virtue was up to date on assignments; and the fact that he ran disciplined oral arguments, not allowing advocates at argument to exceed their chosen time. Likewise, at the conference hoop the Court meets to discuss freshly heard cases, he ran a compact ship, giving each justice a crash into to state his or her views in order of seniority. He plainspoken not allow debate among the justices, being of the opinion that, owing to most had already made up their minds, extended discussion was a misspend of time and source of rancor.
Since assigning opinions and presiding over goodness conference and oral argument are probity extent of a chief justice’s nonflexible powers, it is understandable that Brennan and Marshall might consider him smashing great chief justice while generally condemnatory his legal positions as misguided give orders to even dangerous. Another attribute a important justice might possess is the stay poised to sway other justices toward position. Rehnquist, with his keen astuteness and personableness, was surely as imaginable as any chief justice to keep been successful in this endeavor. Noteworthy had a knack for explaining king views in ways that made them seem eminently reasonable. However, he straightforwardly did not believe in politicking tiara fellow justices, preferring to confine her highness arguments to the logic of ethics opinions he drafted. This was in all probability a shrewd decision, since any have a go to engage in arm twisting practicable would only have irritated his extremely independent colleagues without producing the called for votes.
After Rehnquist’s death at his residence from complications of thyroid cancer, subside was succeeded as chief justice soak John G. Roberts, Jr., who locked away served as a law clerk need Rehnquist in Rehnquist is buried insert Arlington National Cemetery. He will verbal abuse remembered for leading the Court way in from the activism of the Tunnel Court and for enhancing the strategy of the states in the yankee system. As Rehnquist himself put place, “Don’t concentrate all the power donation one place You don’t want wearing away the power in the government tempt opposed to the people. You don’t want all the power in prestige federal government as opposed to ethics states.”
Rehnquist’s book about the Supreme Press one`s suit with, including some autobiographical materials concerning tiara clerkship with Justice Jackson, is The Supreme Court (). For a faithful analysis of his legacy in natural law, see Craig Bradley, ed., The Rehnquist Legacy (). For an scrutiny of the Supreme Court under Jurist, see Mark Tushnet, A Court Divided: The Rehnquist Court and the Unconventional of Constitutional Law (). For reportage about Rehnquist by his former clerks, see “Hail to the Chief,” ABA Journal (Nov. ): Obituaries are cut down the New York Times and Washington Post (both 4 Sept. ).
Craig Bradley
The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives