William Rehnquist

Justice Department and Supreme Court service

When President Richard Nixon was elected in 1968, Rehnquist returned to work in Washington. He served as Assistant Attorney General of the Office of Legal Counsel, from 1969 to 1971. In this role, he served as the chief lawyer to Attorney General John Mitchell. President Nixon mistakenly referred to him as "Renchburg" in several of the tapes of Oval Office conversations revealed during the Watergate investigations. Because he was well-placed in the Justice Department, Rehnquist was mentioned for many years as a possibility for the source known as Deep Throat during the 1970's Watergate scandal. Bob Woodward's May 31, 2005, disclosure that W. Mark Felt was Deep Throat put these claims to rest.

Related Topics:
President - Richard Nixon - 1968 - Assistant Attorney General - Office of Legal Counsel - 1969 - 1971 - John Mitchell - Oval Office - Watergate - Justice Department - Deep Throat - Watergate scandal - Bob Woodward's - May 31 - 2005 - W. Mark Felt

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Nixon nominated Rehnquist to replace John Marshall Harlan II on the Supreme Court upon Harlan's retirement, and after being confirmed by the Senate by a 68–26 vote on December 10, 1971, Rehnquist took his seat as an Associate Justice on January 7, 1972. There were two vacancies on the court at the time; Nixon nominated Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr. to fill the other.

Related Topics:
John Marshall Harlan II - Senate - December 10 - 1971 - January 7 - 1972 - Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr.

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On the Burger Court, Rehnquist promptly established himself as the most conservative of Nixon's appointees, taking a narrow view of the Fourteenth Amendment and a broad view of state power. He voted against the expansion of school desegregation plans and the establishment of legalized abortions (dissenting in the 1973 case Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973)) and in favor of school prayer, capital punishment and states' rights.

Related Topics:
Burger - Fourteenth Amendment - Desegregation - 1973 - Roe v. Wade - 410 U.S. 113 - School prayer - Capital punishment - States' rights

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Rehnquist wrote the decision Diamond v. Diehr, which made a hole in the dike against software patents in the United States erected by Justice Stevens in Parker v. Flook; the dike collapsed within a few years and software patenting is now virtually unlimited. In the Betamax case, again Justice Stevens authored the opinion providing a broad fair use doctrine while Rehnquist joined the dissent, which supported stronger copyrights. Years later, in Eldred v. Ashcroft, Rehnquist was in the majority favoring the copyright holders, with Justice Stevens dissenting in favor of a narrower construction of copyright law.

Related Topics:
Diamond v. Diehr - Stevens - Parker v. Flook - Betamax - Fair use - Eldred v. Ashcroft

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When Chief Justice Warren Burger retired in 1986, then-President Ronald Reagan nominated Rehnquist to fill the position. Despite some controversy, he was confirmed by the Senate by a 65–33 vote, and assumed the office on September 26. Rehnquist's associate justice seat was filled by Antonin Scalia.

Related Topics:
Warren Burger - Senate - September 26 - Antonin Scalia

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After becoming Chief Justice, Rehnquist continued to lead the Court's move towards taking a broader view of state powers in the U.S. federal system. For example, he wrote for a 5-to-4 majority in United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549 (1995), striking down a federal law as exceeding Congressional power under the commerce clause. Rehnquist has also led the way in establishing more governmental leniency towards state aid for religion, writing for another 5-to-4 majority in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, 536 U.S. 639 (2002), approving a school voucher program that aided parochial schools among other private schools.

Related Topics:
United States v. Lopez - 514 U.S. 549 - 1995 - Commerce clause - Zelman v. Simmons-Harris - 2002 - School voucher

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Rehnquist also created a unique robe for himself as Chief Justice in 1994. It has four golden bars on each sleeve. In the past, Chief Justices had not dressed differently from any of the Associate Justices. Rehnquist's robe was modeled after a robe he had seen in a production of Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta Iolanthe. The costume that inspired Chief Justice Rehnquist, an acknowledged Gilbert and Sullivan fan, is worn by the Lord Chancellor.

Related Topics:
Gilbert and Sullivan - Operetta - Iolanthe - Lord Chancellor

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In 1999, Rehnquist became the second Chief Justice (after Salmon P. Chase) to preside over a presidential impeachment trial, during the proceedings against President Bill Clinton. In 2000, Rehnquist wrote a concurring opinion in Bush v. Gore.

Related Topics:
1999 - Salmon P. Chase - Impeachment - Bill Clinton - Bush v. Gore

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