Rehnquist, William Hubbs

Born October 1, 1924, in Milwaukee, WI
Died September 3, 2005, in Arlington, VA

Federal Judicial Service:
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States
Nominated by Richard M. Nixon on October 22, 1971, to a seat vacated by John Marshall Harlan. Confirmed by the Senate on December 10, 1971, and received commission on December 15, 1971. Service terminated on September 26, 1986, due to appointment to another judicial position.

Chief Justice, Supreme Court of the United States
Nominated by Ronald Reagan on June 20, 1986, to a seat vacated by Warren Earl Burger. Confirmed by the Senate on September 17, 1986, and received commission on September 25, 1986. Service terminated on September 3, 2005, due to death.

Supreme Court Oath:
January 7, 1972 (Associate Justice) and September 26, 1986 (Chief Justice)

Allotment as Circuit Justice:

Seventh Circuit, January 7, 1972-December 18, 1975
Ninth Circuit, November 17, 1975-September 25, 1986
Fourth Circuit, September 26, 1986-September 3, 2005
District of Columbia Circuit, September 26, 1986-September 3, 2005
Federal Circuit, September 26, 1986-September 3, 2005
Fifth Circuit, August 1, 1987-October 5, 1987
First Circuit, July 20, 1990-August 7, 1990
Third Circuit, July 20, 1990-August 7, 1990

Education:
Stanford University, B.A., 1948
Stanford University, M.A., 1948
Harvard University, M.A., 1949
Stanford Law School, LL.B., 1952

Professional Career:

U.S. Army soldier, Air Corps, 1943-1946
Law clerk, Hon. Robert H. Jackson, Supreme Court of the United States, 1952-1953
Private practice, Phoenix, Arizona, 1953-1969
Assistant attorney general, Office of Legal Counsel, U.S. Department of Justice, 1969-1971
Chair of the board, Federal Judicial Center, 1986-2005
Presiding officer, Judicial Conference of the United States, 1987-2005

Bibliography

Boles, Donald E. Mr. Justice Rehnquist: Judicial Activist. Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1987.

Bradley, Craig M. The Rehnquist Legacy. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006.

Davis, Derek H. Original Intent: Chief Justice Rehnquist and the Course of American Church-State Relations. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books, 1991.

Davis, Sue. Justice Rehnquist and the Constitution. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1989.

Dean, John W. The Rehnquist Choice: The Untold Story of the Nixon Appointment that Redefined the Supreme Court. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2002.

Greenhouse, Linda. “How not to be Chief Justice: The Apprenticeship of William Rehnquist.” University of Pennsylvania Law Review, vol. 154, no. 6 (Jun. 2006): 1365-72.

Jenkins, John A. The Partisan: The Life of William H. Rehnquist. New York: Public Affairs, 2012.

Obermeyer, Herman J. Rehnquist: A Personal Portrait of the Distinguished Chief justice of the United States. New York: Threshold Editions, 2009.

________. “The William Rehnquist you didn’t know.” American Bar Association Journal, vol. 96 (Mar. 2010): 35-42.

Ray, Laura K. “A Law Clerk and His Justice: What William Rehnquist did not Learn from Robert Jackson.” Indiana Law Review, vol. 29, iss. 3 (1996): 535-92.

Wilson, Bradford Paul. The Constitutional Legacy of William H. Rehnquist. St. Paul, MN: West Academic Publishing, 2015.

Manuscript Collections

Stanford University
Hoover Institution Archives
Stanford, Cal.
William H. Rehnquist papers, 1947-2005.
566 linear ft. (157 manuscript boxes and 503 records cartons); finding aid; correspondence, court case files, administrative files, conference files, speeches and writings, book manuscripts, invitations, and other materials. Materials related to the Supreme Court's October Terms 1975-2005 shall remain closed during the lifetime of any member of the Supreme Court who served with William H. Rehnquist.

You are here

Rehnquist, William Hubbs