Rehnquist, << REHN kwihst, >> William Hubbs (1924-2005), served as chief justice of the United States from 1986 until his death. President Ronald Reagan nominated him to succeed Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, who retired. Rehnquist had served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States since 1972.
As chief justice, Rehnquist became the leading spokesperson of a group of conservative Supreme Court justices. These justices issued decisions supporting state authority and limiting the power of the U.S. Congress. Under Rehnquist, the court also took a conservative approach to criminal procedures (methods for arresting, prosecuting, and punishing people accused of crimes). In early 1999, Rehnquist presided over the Senate impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton, which ended in Clinton’s acquittal.
Rehnquist was born on Oct. 1, 1924, in Milwaukee. He earned both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in political science from Stanford University in 1948. He received a master’s degree in government from Harvard University in 1950. Rehnquist graduated as the top student in his class from Stanford Law School in 1952. In 1952 and 1953, he served as law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson. From 1953 to 1969, Rehnquist practiced law in Phoenix. He was a U.S. assistant attorney general from 1969 to 1971.
In 1972, President Richard M. Nixon sparked a debate in the Senate when he nominated Rehnquist to the Supreme Court. The debate centered on Rehnquist’s philosophy, which his opponents termed “ultraconservative.” During Senate hearings on the nomination, several civil rights groups and many liberals objected to positions Rehnquist had taken on such issues as school desegregation and police surveillance.
As an associate justice, Rehnquist continued to reflect the conservative viewpoint on almost every issue and was the most conservative justice on the court. When Reagan nominated him to be chief justice, debate again broke out in the Senate over Rehnquist’s conservatism.
Rehnquist wrote a number of books. He is the author of The Supreme Court (1987, revised edition 2001), which gives a history of the court and describes how it operates. His other books include All the Laws But One: Civil Liberties in Wartime (2000), which explores instances when American presidents have suspended personal freedoms; and Centennial Crisis: The Disputed Election of 1876 (2004), which looks at the close presidential race between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel J. Tilden. Rehnquist died on Sept. 3, 2005.
