Burger, Warren Earl (1907-1995), served as chief justice of the United States from 1969 to 1986. President Richard M. Nixon nominated him to succeed Chief Justice Earl Warren, who retired. Burger helped reverse the liberal direction that the court had taken under Warren.
In his early years as chief justice, Burger joined several decisions that continued the Warren Court’s trend. In 1971, for example, he wrote a unanimous decision allowing school busing to end “all vestiges of state-imposed segregation.” But the court’s makeup changed in the 1970’s and early 1980’s, as conservatives were appointed to replace more liberal judges who had died or retired. As a result, the Burger Court limited or overturned many important decisions of the Warren Court.
The Burger Court modified the obligation of school boards to desegregate and removed long-standing restrictions on police and prosecuting attorneys. The Burger Court also allowed local governments to become more fully involved in supporting religious activities. In addition, it upheld the use of capital punishment. Burger often called for reforms to reduce the workload of courts, especially that of the Supreme Court. He also favored decreasing the powers of federal courts and increasing those of state courts.
Burger was born on Sept. 17, 1907, in St. Paul, Minnesota. He graduated from St. Paul College of Law (now Mitchell College of Law) in 1931. He was a faculty member at Mitchell from 1933 to 1953 and practiced law from 1931 to 1953. Burger was an assistant U.S. attorney general from 1953 to 1956. He then served as a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia until he became chief justice. Burger died on June 25, 1995.
