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William Rehnquist (October 1, 1924 – September 3, 2005)
16th Chief Justice of United States- nominated by Ronald Reagan
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In office- September 26, 1986 – September 3, 2005
Served on the Supreme court for 33 years – started as an associate justice from
1972-86
Considered a conservative, Rehnquist favoured a conception of federalism that
emphasized the Tenth Amendment's reservation of powers to the states.
Rehnquist served as chief justice for nearly 19 years, making him the fourth-longestserving chief justice
His father, William Benjamin Rehnquist, was a sales manager at various times for
printing equipment, paper, and medical supplies and devices
His mother, Margery Peck Rehnquist—the daughter of a local hardware store owner
who also served as an officer and director of a small insurance company—was a
local civic activist, as well as translator and homemaker
Rehnquist graduated from Shorewood High School in 1942. He attended Kenyon
College, in Gambier, Ohio, for one quarter in the fall of 1942, before entering the U.S.
Army Air Forces. He served from March 1943 – 1946
After the war ended, Rehnquist attended Stanford University with assistance under
the provisions of the G.I. Bill. In 1948, he received both a Bachelor of Arts and
a Master of Arts degree in political science. In 1950, he attended Harvard University,
where he received another Master of Arts, this time in government.
Dates and attitudes to decisions
1985 : Wallace v. Jaffree – Liberal
1989 : Texas v Johnson – Conservative
1992 : Planned Parenthood v. Casey – Conservative
1995 : United States v. Lopez – Liberal
2005: Kelo v New London – Conservative
Overall, his varied from making liberal decision to making conservative decisions on
numerous cases but he was more on the conservative side of the spectrum for most of his
cases
Cases
Gonzales v. Raich (2005): A decision made by the U.S. Supreme Court which ruled that the
United States Congress could criminalize the use and production of home-grown cannabis
even in states which had laws that approved its use for medicinal purposes
Lawrence v. Texas (2003): A landmark Supreme Court case that struck down a sodomy
law in Texas by a 6-3 ruling. In the previous case Bowers v. Hardwick (1986), the court had
upheld a Georgia statute and claimed that there was no protection of sexual privacy in the
constitution. The new ruling held that the previous case looked at liberty interest too narrowly
Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992): A Supreme Court Case that looked at the
constitutionality of numerous Pennsylvania state regulations that involved abortion. The
plurality opinion of the court upheld the constitutional right to have an abortion. However, the
court also examined many restrictions of the right and upheld certain portions while
invalidating others. Chief Justice William Rehnquist was a part of the plurality opinion which
stated that their opinion was upholding the essential precedent of Roe V. Wade, meaning
that the right to abortion was a fundamental part of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due
Process Clause.
United States v. Lopez (1995): Rehnquist scored a victory against the federal government
when the court ruled that a federal act that had made it unlawful to carry a gun in a school
zone was unconstitutional.
United States v. Lopez
In United States v. Lopez (1995), the Supreme Court ruled that Congress had exceeded its
constitutional authority under the Commerce Clause when it passed a law prohibiting gun
possession in local school zones. Alfonso Lopez Jr., a high school senior, was convicted in a
federal district court for knowingly possessing a concealed handgun and bullets at his San
Antonio high school. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the decision, ruling that the
law was beyond the reach of Congress's power under the Commerce Clause. The
government appealed to the Supreme Court, which reviewed the case in 1994.
The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision written by Chief Justice William Rehnquist and
released in 1995, ruled that the Gun-Free School Zones Act was unconstitutional and
overturned Lopez's conviction.