William H. Rehnquist

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William Hubbs Rehnquist (born October 1, 1924 in Milwaukee , Wisconsin as William Donald Rehnquist , † September 3, 2005 in Arlington , Virginia ) was an American lawyer and presiding judge of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1986 until his death ( Chief Justice of the United States ).

Life

William H. Rehnquist was descended from Swedish immigrants. He was born the son of the paper merchant William Benjamin Rehnquist and the translator Margery (née Peck) and was named William Donald. He changed his middle name to Hubbs, his grandmother's maiden name, while in high school . He served in the US Army from 1943 to 1946 . At Stanford University , he acquired the title Bachelor , Master and LL.B. ; he also had a Masters from Harvard University . Rehnquist was an intern at the Supreme Court in 1951 and 1952; from 1953 to 1969 he practiced as a lawyer in Phoenix , Arizona . He was also involved in the Republican Party , including as legal advisor for Barry Goldwaters' presidential candidacy in 1964 .

In 1969 Rehnquist went to Washington, DC , where he worked as a deputy attorney general (Assistant Attorney General) in the Department of Justice until he was officially appointed judge ( Associate Justice ) at the Supreme Court on January 7, 1972 . President Richard Nixon had proposed him as the successor to the resigned John Marshall Harlan and the Senate approved with 68:26 votes.

Rehnquist was appointed 16th Chief Justice of the highest federal court after the resignation of Warren E. Burger in 1986 on the proposal of President Ronald Reagan ; Here, too, the Senate finally agreed with 65:33 votes - despite heated arguments. Antonin Scalia took over his seat as Associate Justice .

In his roughly nineteen-year tenure, Rehnquist shaped the Supreme Court and, indirectly, American politics. He was considered a pragmatic conservative and was an advocate for an interpretation of the constitution that remained strictly textual . In appropriate cases he voted for the retention or reintroduction of the death penalty , against abortion and for more rights of the individual states ( federalism ). In his early years on the Supreme Court, when Burger took very liberal positions, he was often in the minority. His dissenting opinions, for example in the Roe v. Wade (woman's right to abortion) earned him the nickname "Lone Ranger" (lone guardian). Through his reasoning, he strengthened the power of the US President and the states , while at the same time limiting the powers of Congress .

With the appointment of more conservative judges, however, his views regained a majority, although the court tried not to completely overturn earlier decisions. After his appointment as Chief Justice at the latest , he became the majority leader. In general, the Supreme Court under Rehnquist was considered more conservative than in previous compositions. Judge Rehnquist and a slim majority made the controversial decision of Bush v. Gore (confirmation of the election of George W. Bush as US President in December 2000). On the other hand, he also voted with the majority at Dickerson v. United States (June 2000), through which the significant decision Miranda v. Arizona was upheld by the Liberal Warren Court in June 1966 (regarding the duty of investigators to notify defendants of their rights) .

In 1999 he chaired the Senate meetings on the impeachment proceedings against President Bill Clinton .

In 2004 and 2005, Rehnquist was unable to attend a large number of the court's sessions because he suffered from thyroid cancer . However, he swore in President George W. Bush for his second term in January 2005 . His illness gave rise to speculations as to whether he would step down from his office early, which intensified after the resignation letter from his colleague Sandra Day O'Connor in July 2005. On July 14th, he made it publicly clear that he would keep his post as long as his health permitted. He died on September 3, 2005, making him the first Supreme Court judge since Fred M. Vinson († 1953) to die in office. The conservative John Roberts succeeded Rehnquist and was sworn in as the new Chief Justice of the United States on September 29. Rehnquist's body was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Shortly before his death, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2005 .

Rehnquist was married to Natalie Cornell from 1953 until her death in 1991. The marriage had three children.

Representation in films

Web links

Commons : William Rehnquist  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

literature

  • Herman J. Obermayer - Rehnquist: A Personal Portrait of the Distinguished Chief Justice of the United States , 2009, ISBN 1439140820
personal data
SURNAME Rehnquist, William H.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rehnquist, William Hubbs (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American lawyer and presiding judge of the Supreme Court (Chief Justice of the United States)
DATE OF BIRTH October 1, 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH Milwaukee , Wisconsin
DATE OF DEATH September 3, 2005
Place of death Arlington , Virginia