Brennan, William Joseph, Jr.

Born April 25, 1906, in Newark, NJ
Died July 24, 1997, in Arlington, VA

Federal Judicial Service:
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States
Received a recess appointment from Dwight D. Eisenhower on October 15, 1956, to a seat vacated by Sherman Minton; nominated to the same position by Dwight D. Eisenhower on January 14, 1957. Confirmed by the Senate on March 19, 1957, and received commission on March 21, 1957. Assumed senior status on July 20, 1990. Service terminated on July 24, 1997, due to death.

Supreme Court Oath:
October 16, 1956

Allotment as Circuit Justice:

Third Circuit, October 16, 1956-July 19, 1990
Fourth Circuit, June 24, 1957-October 13, 1958
Sixth Circuit, June 24, 1957-July 18, 1958
Second Circuit, June 29, 1959-April 1, 1962
First Circuit, May 26, 1969-July 19, 1990

Education:
University of Pennsylvania, B.S., 1928
Harvard Law School, LL.B., 1931

Professional Career:

Private practice, Newark, New Jersey, 1931-1942, 1946-1949
U.S. Army colonel, 1942-1946
Judge, Superior Court of New Jersey, 1949-1952; Law Division, 1949-1951; Appellate Division, 1951-1952
Justice, Supreme Court of New Jersey, 1952-1956

Bibliography

Cepelka, Angeline. “The Elusive Line: Justice William Brennan and Nonpublic Education.” Ph.D. Diss., Marquette University, 1992.

Clark, Hunter R. Justice Brennan: The Great Conciliator. Secaucus, NJ: Birch Lane Press, 1995.

Defeis, Elizabeth F. “Justice William J. Brennan, Jr.” Seton Hall Law Review, vol. 16, no. 2 (1986): 429-60.

Doar, John. “Justice William Brennan.” North Carolina Central Law Journal, vol. 12, no. 2 (Spring 1981): 279-89.

Eisler, Kim Isaac. A Justice for All: William J. Brennan, Jr. and the Decisions that Transformed America. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993.

________. The Last Liberal: Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. and the Decisions that Transformed America. Washington, DC: Beard Books, 1993.

Grunes, Rodney A. and Jon Veen. “Justice Brennan, Catholicism, and the Establishment Clause.” University of San Francisco Law Review, vol. 35, no. 3 (Spring 2001): 527-64.

Hopkins, W. Wat. Justice Brennan and Freedom of Expression. New York: Praeger, 1991.

Levine, Lee and Stephen Wermiel. The Progeny: Justice William J. Brennan’s Fight to Preserve the Legacy of New York Times v. Sullivan. Chicago: ABA Forum on Communications Law, 2014.

Lucie, Patricia. “Justice William Brennan, Jr.: Constitutional Visions Take Five Votes.” Denning Law Journal, vol. 12 (1997): 5-19.

Michelman, Frank I. Brennan and Democracy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2005.

Rosenkrantz, E. Joshua and Bernard Schwartz. Reason and Passion: Justice Brennan’s Enduring Influence. New York: Norton, 1997.

Roy, Deborah A. “Justice William Brennan, Jr., James Wilson, and the Pursuit of Equality and Liberty.” Cleveland State Law Review, vol. 61, no. 3 (2013): 665-712.

Stern, Seth and Stephen Wermiel. Justice Brennan: Liberal Champion. Lawrence, Kan.: University of Kansas Press, 2013.

Wermeil, Stephen J. “Gazing into the Future: The 100-Year Legacy of Justice William J. Brennan.” Journal of Appellate Practice and Process, vol. 13, no. 2 (Fall 2012): 173-82.

Tributes: “Mr. Justice Brennan.” Harvard Law Review, vol. 80, no. 1 (Nov. 1966): 1-22.

Tributes: Annual Survey of American Law, vol. 1981 (1981): xxii-xxxviii.

Tributes: “A Tribute to Justice William Brennan.” Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, vol. 15, no. 2 (Fall 1980): 279-308.

Manuscript Collections

Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.
William J. Brennan papers, 1945-1998.
434.8 linear ft.; finding aid; restricted; collection contains legal papers, case files, correspondence relating to Brennan's tenure on the U.S. Supreme Court, and annual reviews of the court's work.

Oral History

Brennan, William J. "In Search of the Constitution: Mr. Justice Brennan." Interview conducted by Bill Moyers. New York: Public Affairs Television, 1987. Videotape, 58 minutes.

Federal Judicial Center

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Brennan, William Joseph, Jr.