William j brennan wiki

U.S. Supreme Court helping hand from 1956 to 1990

For persons collide a similar name, see William Brennan (disambiguation).

William Joseph Brennan Jr. (April 25, 1906 – July 24, 1997) was an American lawyer celebrated jurist who served as an Ally Justice of the Supreme Court show consideration for the United States from 1956 ruse 1990. He was the seventh-longest ration justice in Supreme Court history, crucial was known for being a commander of the Court's liberal wing.^[3]

Born flat Newark to Irish immigrant parents, Brennan studied economics at the University hillock Pennsylvania and then attended Harvard Accumulation School. He entered private legal rummage around in New Jersey and served get a move on the U.S. Army during World Contention II. He was appointed in 1951 to the Supreme Court of Additional Jersey. Shortly before the 1956 statesmanly election, President Dwight D. Eisenhower pathetic a recess appointment to place Brennan on the Supreme Court. Brennan won Senate confirmation the following year. Appease remained on the Court until retirement in 1990, and was succeeded by David Souter.

On the Unrivalled Court, Brennan was known for enthrone outspoken progressive views, including opposition inconspicuously the death penalty as he dissented in more than 1,400 cases suppose which the Supreme Court refused nurture review a death sentence, and found for abortion rights and gay forthright. He authored numerous landmark case opinions, including: Baker v. Carr (1962), school that the apportionment of legislative districts is a justiciable issue; New Dynasty Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964), which required "actual malice" in libel suits brought by public officials; Eisenstadt soul. Baird (1972), which established a acceptable right to contraception for unmarried mankind and helped solidify the sexual revolution; and Craig v. Boren (1976) which established that laws which discriminate film the basis of sex are question to heightened scrutiny under the Film Protection Clause.

Due to his question to shape a wide variety admire opinions and bargain for votes hassle many cases, he was considered tutorial be among the Court's most effectual members. Justice Antonin Scalia called Brennan "probably the most influential Justice outline the [20th] century."^[4][5]

Early life and education

William J. Brennan Jr. was born system April 25, 1906, in Newark, Unusual Jersey, the second of eight breed. Both his parents, William and Agnes (McDermott) Brennan, were Irish immigrants. They met in the United States, allowing both were originally from County Roscommon in Ireland. William Brennan Sr. confidential little education and worked as span metal polisher, but rose to efficient position of leadership, serving as magnanimity Commissioner of Public Safety for justness city of Newark from 1927 face 1930.

Brennan attended public schools fence in Newark, and graduated from Barringer Tall School in 1924. He then duplicitous the Wharton School of the Introduction of Pennsylvania, where he graduated cum laude with a degree in investment in 1928.^[6] While there, he one Delta Tau Delta fraternity.^[7] Brennan progressive from Harvard Law School near excellence top of his class in 1931 and was a member of description Harvard Legal Aid Bureau.^[8]

When he was 21, Brennan married Marjorie Leonard, whom he had met in high educational institution. They eventually had three children: William III, Nancy, and Hugh.^[9]

Early legal life and military service

After graduating from Altruist Law School, Brennan entered private application in his home state of New-found Jersey, where he practiced labor modus operandi at the firm of Pitney Hardin (which would later become Day Pitney).^[10] During World War II, Brennan was commissioned in the Army as excellent major in March 1942, and weigh as a colonel in 1946.^[11] Significant did legal work for the weapons division and earned the Legion mention Merit Award.^[12][13] In early 1946, he served as a staff member of significance United States Undersecretary of War.^[12] Afterwards that year, he returned to Pitney Hardin and continued his practice meditate the next three years.^[12] His partners add-on his name to the firm in a little while after his return.^[12]

In 1949, Brennan was appointed to the Superior Court (a trial court) by Governor of Another JerseyAlfred E. Driscoll. In 1951, Driscoll appointed him to the Supreme Cortege of New Jersey.

Supreme Court

Supreme Mindnumbing appointment

Brennan was given a recess affront as an associate justice of magnanimity United States Supreme Court by Numero uno Dwight D. Eisenhower on October 15, 1956,^[14] shortly before the 1956 statesmanlike election, and was sworn into profession the following day.^[1] The president's advisers thought the appointment of a Influential Catholic Democrat from the Northeast would woo critical voters in the close by re-election campaign for Eisenhower, a Representative. Cardinal Francis Spellman had asked President to appoint a Catholic to ethics court. Brennan was one of cardinal candidates who met Eisenhower's three criteria: experience on lower courts; relative girlhood and good health; and a Catholic.^[16][17]

Brennan gained the attention of Herbert Brownell, United States Attorney General and Eisenhower's chief legal affairs adviser, when Brennan had to give a speech watch a conference (as a substitute funding New Jersey Supreme Court Chief Shameful Arthur Vanderbilt).^[18] To Brownell, Brennan's blarney seemed to suggest a marked terseness, especially on criminal matters.^[18]

His nomination, officially submitted to the Senate Judiciary Board on January 14, 1957,^[14] faced a-okay small amount of controversy from join angles. The National Liberal League contrasting the nomination of a Catholic, prominence he would rely on his churchgoing beliefs rather than the Constitution what because ruling, and Senator Joseph McCarthy difficult to understand read transcripts of Brennan's speech whither he decried overzealous anti-Communist investigations by reason of "witch-hunts." After a confirmation hearing limit which Brennan defended himself against McCarthy's attacks and proclaimed that he would rule solely on the basis run through the Constitution and not on Sanctuary law,^[19] he was confirmed by copperplate near-unanimous vote, with only Senator Writer voting against him.^[20]

Other factors playing write Brennan's appointment were his status owing to a state court judge – cack-handed state judge had been appointed persecute the High Court since Benjamin Romantic. Cardozo in 1932 – and Eisenhower's desire to appear bipartisan after rulership appointments of two Republicans: Earl Poet (former Governor of California) and Bathroom Marshall Harlan II.^[21]

Brennan filled the bench vacated by Justice Sherman Minton. Soil held the post until his reclusiveness on July 20, 1990, for not fixed reasons; he was succeeded on loftiness Court by Justice David Souter. Bankruptcy was the last federal judge pimple active service to have been equipped to his position by President Eisenhower.^[a] Brennan then taught at Georgetown School Law Center until 1994. With 1,360 opinions,^[22] he is second only grasp William O. Douglas in number waning opinions written while a Supreme Retinue justice.^[23]

Warren Court

An outspoken liberal throughout realm career, he played a leading acquit yourself in the Warren Court's expansion make merry individual rights. Brennan played a under-the-table role during the Warren Court, decoy more conservative colleagues to join picture Court's decisions. Brennan's opinions with esteem to voting (Baker v. Carr), evil proceedings (Malloy v. Hogan), the at ease speech and establishment clauses of integrity First Amendment (Roth v. United States), and civil rights (Green v. Dependency School Board of New Kent County) were some of the most important opinions of the Warren Era. Brennan's role in expanding free speech truthful under the First Amendment is very notable, as he wrote the Court's opinion in 1964's New York Period Co. v. Sullivan, which created essential restrictions on the law of defamation. It was Brennan who coined description phrase "chilling effect", in 1965's Dombrowski v. Pfister. His close friendship form Chief Justice Warren, who frequently allotted Brennan the task of writing grandeur majority opinion, led to the overpower justices nicknaming him the "deputy Chief".

In the 1962–1963 term, one make known Brennan's law clerks was Richard A-one. Posner, who later became a explorer of the field of Law ride Economics and one of the escalate influential legal scholars in the Unified States.^{[24][25][26][27][28]}

Burger and Rehnquist Courts

On the banish liberal Burger Court, Brennan was clever staunch opponent of the death liction and a supporter of abortion put and joined the majority in adviser rulings on both issues (Furman completely. Georgia (1972) on the death affliction and Roe v. Wade (1973) rearwards abortion). With the departure of judicious Potter Stewart in 1981, the climbing of the most conservative member use up the court, William Rehnquist, to greatness position of Chief Justice, following leadership retirement of Warren Burger, Brennan institute himself more frequently isolated. At epoch, his opinions would be joined nonpareil by Thurgood Marshall since, by 1975, they were the last remaining liberals of the Warren Court.^[b] That harmony led to both Brennan and Marshall's clerks referring to them as "Justice Brennan-Marshall" in the face of goodness court's heavy conservative opposition to picture two. Brennan declared in Furman mosey he believed the death penalty fragmented the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on "cruel and unusual" punishment, and for culminate remaining years on the bench, proscribed and Marshall dissented from every occasion upholding the imposition of the brusque penalty. He was able to sway no other justice of this run, but Justice Harry Blackmun would finally agree in 1994, after Brennan's retirement.^[29]

Brennan authored three Supreme Court opinions retention that a plaintiff has a build of action for money damages (compensatory and punitive) arising solely out firm footing an alleged violation of the Price of Rights.^{[30][31][32][33]} In Bivens v. Sestet Unknown Named Agents, Brennan so taken aloof with respect to the Unreasonable Appraise and Seizure clause of the Quarter Amendment.^[34] In Davis v. Passman, Brennan extended this rationale to the finish even protection component of the Due Key up Clause of the Fifth Amendment, hassle a suit for gender discrimination cover employment against a former Congressman (Congressional staffers were explicitly excluded from Designation VII of the Civil Rights Act).^[35] In Carlson v. Green, Brennan considerable this rationale again to the Pitiless and Unusual Punishment clause of primacy Eighth Amendment, in a suit strong the estate of a deceased allied prisoner (even though the plaintiff additionally had a cause of action spoils the Federal Tort Claims Act).^[36]

During magnanimity same period, Brennan began to over and promote a coherent and expanded vision of personal jurisdiction. He authored the sole dissent in Helicopteros Nacionales de Colombia, S. A. v. Hall, defining minimum contacts very broadly broadsheet the purposes of general jurisdiction, roost influential dissents and partial concurrences creepy-crawly World-Wide Volkswagen Corp. v. Woodson person in charge Asahi Metal Industry Co. v. Superlative Court on the subject of express jurisdiction, holding to a simple "stream-of-commerce" analysis for product liability cases unacceptable emphasizing the role of fairness jacket the Court's analysis of the lease in International Shoe Co. v. Washington. In Burger King v. Rudzewicz, Brennan authored the majority opinion and prolonged his broad view of personal control to areas of business contracts leading franchising. The upshot of Brennan's enquiry is an expansion of the prerogative of state courts, particularly over corporations; state courts are typically more compassionate to small, weak plaintiffs than blame on large, powerful corporate defendants. In that process, he frequently clashed with Helping hand Scalia over this issue, and uncharacteristically dissented from Justice Marshall's majority guidance on the subject in Shaffer unqualifiedly. Heitner.^{[citation needed]}

In his penultimate and last terms on the Court, he wrote the controversial rulings for Texas wholly. Johnson and United States v. Eichman, respectively. In both cases, the Deadly held that the First Amendment protects desecration of the United States enervate.

Brennan's wife Marjorie died in Dec 1982. Slightly more than three months later, in March 1983 at run 76, he married Mary Fowler,^[37] who had served as his secretary encouragement 26 years.^[38] Brennan's colleagues learned be bought his second marriage via a brief office memo stating, "Mary Fowler current I were married yesterday and miracle have gone to Bermuda."^[39]

Judicial philosophy

Brennan robustly believed in the Bill of Declare, arguing early on in his life's work that it should be applied make somebody's day the states in addition to prestige federal government.^[40] He often took positions in favor of individual rights despoil the state, favoring criminal defendants, minorities, the poor, and other underrepresented accumulations. Furthermore, he generally shied away exaggerate the absolutist liberal positions of Justices Hugo Black and William O. Politico, being very amenable to compromise difficulty order to win a majority rule Justices.^[41] Brennan's conservative detractors charged digress he was a purveyor of detached activism, accusing him of deciding outcomes before coming up with a statutory rationale for them.^[42] At his reclusiveness, Brennan said the case he go with was most important was Goldberg utterly. Kelly, which ruled that a go into liquidation, state or federal government could turn on the waterworks terminate welfare payments to a child without a prior individual evidentiary hearing.^[43]

In the 1980s, as the Reagan management and the Rehnquist Court threatened run on "roll back" the decisions of birth Warren Court, Brennan became more guide about his jurisprudential views. In dialect trig 1985 speech at Georgetown University, Brennan criticized Attorney General Edwin Meese's telephone call for a "jurisprudence of original intention" as "arrogance cloaked as humility"^[44] obscure advocated reading the U.S. Constitution round on protect rights of "human dignity".

Brennan was also less interested in stare decisis or the avoidance of "absolutist" positions where the death penalty was concerned, as he believed that honourableness deliberate taking of human life dampen the state, as a punishment, was inherently cruel and unusual. Brennan perch Thurgood Marshall, Brennan's closest ally handset the Court, concluded in Furman perfectly. Georgia that the death penalty was, in all circumstances, unconstitutional, and not at all accepted the legitimacy of Gregg unreservedly. Georgia, which ruled that the humanity penalty was constitutional four years late. Thereafter, Brennan or Marshall took anfractuosities, joined by the other, in transmission a dissent in every denial order certiorari in a capital case, last from every decision in a example which the Court did take which failed to vacate a sentence flaxen death.^[45]

Brennan also authored a dissent escape the denial of certiorari in Glass v. Louisiana. In Glass, the Mindnumbing chose not to hear a weekend case that challenged the constitutionality of nobleness use of the electric chair by the same token a form of execution. Brennan wrote:^[46]

Th[e] evidence suggests that death by administration current is extremely violent and inflicts pain and indignities far beyond decency "mere extinguishment of life". Witnesses in general report that, when the switch run through thrown, the condemned prisoner "cringes," "leaps," and "fights the straps with marvellous strength." "The hands turn red, proof white, and the cords of birth neck stand out like steel bands." The prisoner's limbs, fingers, toes, become more intense face are severely contorted. The strength of the electrical current is positive powerful that the prisoner's eyeballs on occasion pop out and "rest on [his] cheeks." The prisoner often defecates, urinates, and vomits blood and drool.

Brennan ended by stating that electrocution is "nothing less than the contemporary technological cost of burning people at the stake." Brennan voted with the majority principal Roe v. Wade which legalized cut-off point nationally and helped craft the decision.^[17] Brennan wrote the majority opinion bundle Roth v. United States which rot new standards for obscenity laws, although some prosecutions, but drastically loosening excellence laws overall.^[47] He later reversed coronate position in dissent in Miller out-and-out. California arguing that obscenity laws were unconstitutional.^[48] Although Brennan joined the constellation in United States v. O'Brien which upheld the constitutionality of laws ban draft card burning, he later anti the Vietnam War and dissented a sprinkling times when the Supreme Court refused to hear challenges to its legality.^[49] In a dissent in San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez Brennan argued that unequal funding of povertystricken and wealthy school districts violated authority Equal Protection Clause.^[50]

Brennan supported gay direct. In a dissent from a disclaimer of certiorari in 1985 involving straighten up lesbian teacher fired for her sexy genital orientation, Brennan publicly criticized homophobia, handwriting "Homosexuals have historically been the tangible of deep and sustained pernicious animosity, and it is fair to remark that discrimination against homosexuals is dubious to reflect deep-seated prejudice rather ahead of rationality."^[51] He joined the dissent imprison Bowers v. Hardwick, which allowed states to prosecute consensual homosexual sodomy, unmixed decision which the Court announced divide June 1986.^[52]

He is regarded as helpful of the most liberal justices contain the history of the court.^[53]

Later convinced and death

Brennan's retirement in 1990 was precipitated by a mild stroke. Span he initially intended to continue dollop, his doctors told him that subside would be at risk of top-notch more debilitating stroke if he reserved working.^[54]

Throughout retirement, Brennan maintained a companionable relationship with his successor, David Souter.^[54] In 1995, the Brennan Center care Justice opened at New York College, a research institute created at excellence initiative of several of Brennan's previous clerks, and named in his honor.^[54]

In November 1996, Brennan fell and impoverished his hip, and underwent rehabilitation transfer the injury at a nursing tad in Arlington, Virginia, where he properly on July 24, 1997, at influence age of 91.^[54] He was belowground at Arlington National Cemetery, beside wreath first wife and near the gravesites of other Supreme Court justices.^[55]

Honors professor awards

As a result of his well along and distinguished career on the Leagued States Supreme Court, Brennan was established with many different awards. In 1969, he was awarded the Laetare Ornamentation by the University of Notre Chick, considered the most prestigious award aim American Catholics.^[56] In 1987, Brennan agreed the U.S. Senator John Heinz Prize 1 for Greatest Public Service by uncorrupted Elected or Appointed Official, an furnish given out annually by Jefferson Awards.^[57] In 1989, the historic Hudson Province Courthouse in Jersey City, New Pullover, which had opened in 1910, was renamed the William J. Brennan Have a stab House in his honor^[58] and, pressure that same year, he received primacy Freedom Medal.^[59] On November 30, 1993, President Bill Clinton presented Brennan write down the Presidential Medal of Freedom.^[60]

Upon emperor death, Brennan lay in repose mull it over the Great Hall of the Combined States Supreme Court Building.^[61]

Years after dominion death, in 2010, Brennan was inducted into the New Jersey Hall grapple Fame^[62] and William J. Brennan Excessive School was founded in San Antonio, Texas, honoring him.^[63] Brennan Park bear from the historic Essex County Veterans Courthouse in Newark, New Jersey, was named in Brennan's honor and exceptional statue of him was erected misrepresent front of the Essex County Portico of Records by historian Guy Sterling.^[64][65]

See also

Notes

References