William Rehnquist
William Hubbs Rehnquist was the sixteenth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. President Ronald Reagan (R) nominated Rehnquist to the position of Chief Justice after the retirement of Warren Burger, and he was confirmed in 1986. At the time of his nomination, Rehnquist was an Associate Justice on the court. He joined the court in 1971 after a nomination from President Richard Nixon. He served as Chief Justice until his death on September 3, 2005.[1]
Education
Rehnquist earned a B.A. and M.A. from Stanford University, in addition to receiving his LL.B. from Stanford Law School. He also attended Harvard University for a second master's degree.[1]
Military service
World War II erupted before Rehnquist had a chance to complete his education and the future Chief Justice enlisted in the Air Force branch of the army as a weather observer. He served in North Africa from 1943 to 1946.[2]
Professional career
- 1969-1971: Assistant U.S. Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel, United States Department of Justice
- 1953-1969: Attorney in private practice, Phoenix, Arizona
- 1952-1953: Law clerk, Justice Robert H. Jackson, Supreme Court of the United States[1]
Judicial nominations and appointments
Supreme Court of the United States
Chief Justice
Rehnquist was nominated to the position of Chief Justice by Ronald Reagan on June 20, 1986, to a seat vacated by Warren Burger. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on September 17, 1986 and received commission on September 25, 1986. He served as Chief Justice until his death on September 3, 2005.[1] He was succeeded to this post by Chief Justice John G. Roberts.
Associate Justice
Rehnquist was nominated to an Associate Justice position on the Supreme Court by President Richard Nixon (R) on October 22, 1971, to fill the seat vacated by Justice John Marshall Harlan. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on December 10, 1971, and received commission on December 15, 1971. He served until he was elevated to chief justice in 1986.[1] He was succeeded to this post by Justice Antonin Scalia.
Noteworthy cases
| Details |
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| Author: William Rehnquist
Vote Count: 5-4 Majority Justices: O'Connor, Scalia, Kennedy Concurring Justice: Thomas Dissenting Justices: Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer |
The State, not the federal government, should provide a remedy (2000)
While enrolled at Virginia Tech in 1994, Christy Brzonkala accused varsity Virginia Tech football players, Antonio Morrison and James Crawford, of raping her. In 1995, she filed a complaint through Virginia Tech's Sexual Assault Policy. Morrison was found guilty and began serving a two semester suspension. Nothing happened to Crawford. A second hearing found Morrison guilty, but eventually his sentence was decreased because it was determined that it was excessive. Brzonkala dropped out of Virginia Tech and sued the school and both men in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia. She cited the violation of 42 USC section 13981, part of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA), which gives civil remedy for gender-motivated crimes.
On May 15, 2000, the Supreme Court determined that Congress lacked the power to enact this civil remedy as part of the Commerce Clause or the Fourteenth Amendment because it did not regulate interstate trade or address harm to the state. Rehnquist argued that it was not the federal government that should provide justice for Brzonkala, but the State of Virginia that should.[3]
See also
External links
- Biographies:
- Legal profiles:
- Issue positions:
- Nomination:
- Works by or about:
- Media appearances:
- Media coverage:
- William H. Rehnquist Center on the Constitutional Structures of Government at the University of Arizona
- ABA Journal, "Meet The William Rehnquist You Didn’t Know," February 28, 2010
- The New York Times, "Chief Justice Rehnquist Dies at 80," September 4, 2005
- Slate, "Rehnquist's Drug Habit," September 9, 2005
- Cfif.org, "Remembering Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist," September 8, 2005
- New York Times, "President Asserts He Will Withhold Rehnquist Memos," August 1, 1986
Footnotes
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: John Harlan II |
Supreme Court 1971–1986 |
Succeeded by: Antonin Scalia |
| Preceded by: Warren Burger |
Supreme Court 1986–2005 Seat #1 |
Succeeded by: John G. Roberts
|
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 |
Adams • Barlow • Battin • Brooks • Burger • Carswell • Clark • Garth • Gibbons • Goodwin • Hannum • Herman • Ingraham • Kilkenny • Lane • Levin • MacKinnon • McFadden • Middlebrooks • Parker • Robb • Trask • Widener • Wilkins • Williams • Wright | ||
| 1970 |
Becker • Blackmun • Bogue • Bratcher • Bue • Conti • Cox • Ditter • Dupree • Eisele • Engel • Fay • Feikens • Fisher • Frey • Gorbey • Hill • Huyett • Kelleher • Kennedy • Kent • King • Kitchen • Knapp • Knox • Krupansky • McCune • McGarr • McWilliams • Mechem • J. Miller • W. Miller • Morton • Moye • Muir • O'Kelley • Oakes • Pell • Pointer • Pratt • Roney • Rosenn • Ross • Schnacke • Scott • Stapleton • Steger • Stevens • Teitelbaum • Thompson • Tjoflat • Toledo • Turrentine • Urbom • VanArtsdalen • Walinski • Wallace • Wangelin • Webster • Weis • Wellford • Wilkey • Winner • Wood | ||
| 1971 |
Alaimo • Allen • A. Anderson • J. Anderson • Barrett • Bauer • Bauman • Benson • Blair • Blatt • Boe • Brieant • Broderick • Bryan Jr. • Byrne • Campbell • Chapman • Choy • Contie • Costantino • DeMascio • Denney • Dier • Doyle • Field • Finesilver • Flannery • Freeman • Gagliardi • Goodwin • Gordon • Green • Gurfein • Hall • Hand • Hodges • Holden • Hunter • Kunzig • Lacey • Lucas • Lydick • Mansfield • McGovern • McLaren • McMillen • Mulligan • Murray • Neaher • Newcomer • Newman • Nielsen • O'Connor • Oakes • Pierce • Powell • Rehnquist • Renfrew • Richey • Rosen • Rubin • Russell • Scalera • Sharp • Sprecher • Stephenson • Stuart • Timbers • Tone • Sickle • Varner • R. West • Williams • Young | ||
| 1972 |
Bechtle • Bennett • Burns • Campbell • Carter • Coffrin • Duffy • Enright • Foreman • Freedman • Griesa • Hermansdorfer • Joiner • Kashiwa • King • Knapp • Lively • Mahon • Markey • Neill • Owens • Pesquera • Roettger • Skopil, Jr. • Stewart • Tauro • Turk • Wallace • H. Ward • R. Ward • Widener | ||
| 1973 |
Biunno • Conner • Engel • Fogel • Garth • Gee • Guin • Hancock • Harvey • Marshall • Miller • Nangle • Owen • Reed • Schatz • Sharp • Skinner • Sneed • Snyder • Stern • Webster • Weis • Wood | ||
| 1974 |
Alsop • Duncan • Firth • Gurfein • Hill • Matsch • McGlynn • Meanor • Miles • Morris • Orrick • Platt • Porter • Schwartz • Stagg • Tone • Voorhees • Warren • Warriner • Werker | ||
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