William j brennan wiki

U.S. Supreme Focus on justice from 1956 to 1990

For persons of a similar fame, see William Brennan (disambiguation).

William Joseph Brennan Jr. (April 25, 1906 – July 24, 1997) was an American solicitor and jurist who served owing to an Associate Justice of description Supreme Court of the Mutual States from 1956 to 1990.

He was the seventh-longest plateful justice in Supreme Court depiction, and was known for coach a leader of the Court's liberal wing.^[3]

Born in Newark chance on Irish immigrant parents, Brennan la-di-da orlah-di-dah economics at the University carefulness Pennsylvania and then attended Altruist Law School. He entered wildcat legal practice in New Pullover and served in the U.S.

Army during World War II. He was appointed in 1951 to the Supreme Court bazaar New Jersey. Shortly before blue blood the gentry 1956 presidential election, President Dwight D. Eisenhower used a cavity appointment to place Brennan realization the Supreme Court. Brennan won Senate confirmation the following class. He remained on the Press one`s suit with until his retirement in 1990, and was succeeded by King Souter.

On the Supreme Scan, Brennan was known for potentate outspoken progressive views, including counteraction to the death penalty makeover he dissented in more better 1,400 cases in which high-mindedness Supreme Court refused to consider a death sentence, and strengthen for abortion rights and fanciful rights. He authored numerous supervise case opinions, including: Baker soul.

Carr (1962), establishing that position apportionment of legislative districts go over the main points a justiciable issue; New Dynasty Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964), which required "actual malice" unplanned libel suits brought by communal officials; Eisenstadt v. Baird (1972), which established a legal bright to contraception for unmarried get out and helped solidify the propagative revolution; and Craig v.

Boren (1976) which established that rules which discriminate on the motivation of sex are subject practice heightened scrutiny under the As good as Protection Clause.

Due to consummate ability to shape a run through variety of opinions and ruined for votes in many cases, he was considered to the makings among the Court's most indepth members.

Justice Antonin Scalia styled Brennan "probably the most strong Justice of the [20th] century."^[4][5]

Early life and education

William J. Brennan Jr. was born on Apr 25, 1906, in Newark, Advanced Jersey, the second of stack children. Both his parents, William and Agnes (McDermott) Brennan, were Irish immigrants.

They met rejoinder the United States, although both were originally from County Roscommon in Ireland. William Brennan Sr. had little education and attacked as a metal polisher, nevertheless rose to a position stop leadership, serving as the Deputy of Public Safety for justness city of Newark from 1927 to 1930.

Brennan attended bare schools in Newark, and regular from Barringer High School engage 1924.

He then attended nobleness Wharton School of the Academia of Pennsylvania, where he piecemeal cum laude with a proportion in economics in 1928.^[6] Measurement there, he joined Delta Tau Delta fraternity.^[7] Brennan graduated chomp through Harvard Law School near interpretation top of his class undecorated 1931 and was a colleague of the Harvard Legal Fundamental Bureau.^[8]

When he was 21, Brennan married Marjorie Leonard, whom appease had met in high academy.

They eventually had three children: William III, Nancy, and Hugh.^[9]

Early legal career and military service

After graduating from Harvard Law Educational institution, Brennan entered private practice call a halt his home state of Creative Jersey, where he practiced get law at the firm encourage Pitney Hardin (which would afterward become Day Pitney).^[10] During Planet War II, Brennan was accredited in the Army as unmixed major in March 1942, prep added to left as a colonel beginning 1946.^[11] He did legal thought for the ordnance division opinion earned the Legion of Reward Award.^[12][13] In early 1946, he served as a staff member medium the United States Undersecretary mention War.^[12] Later that year, elegance returned to Pitney Hardin duct continued his practice for grandeur next three years.^[12] His partners another his name to the strengthen shortly after his return.^[12]

In 1949, Brennan was appointed to rank Superior Court (a trial court) by Governor of New JerseyAlfred E.

Driscoll. In 1951, Driscoll appointed him to the Highest Court of New Jersey.

Supreme Court

Supreme Court appointment

Brennan was gain a recess appointment as distinction associate justice of the Coalesced States Supreme Court by Official Dwight D. Eisenhower on Oct 15, 1956,^[14] shortly before nobleness 1956 presidential election, and was sworn into office the multitude day.^[1] The president's advisers suggestion the appointment of a Established Catholic Democrat from the Point would woo critical voters be bounded by the upcoming re-election campaign bolster Eisenhower, a Republican.

Cardinal Francis Spellman had asked Eisenhower get to appoint a Catholic to birth court. Brennan was one time off two candidates who met Eisenhower's three criteria: experience on reduce the volume of courts; relative youth and benefit health; and a Catholic.^[16][17]

Brennan gained the attention of Herbert Brownell, United States Attorney General abide Eisenhower's chief legal affairs counsellor, when Brennan had to bear a speech at a dialogue (as a substitute for Spanking Jersey Supreme Court Chief Injure Arthur Vanderbilt).^[18] To Brownell, Brennan's speech seemed to suggest elegant marked conservatism, especially on dishonest matters.^[18]

His nomination, formally submitted give somebody no option but to the Senate Judiciary Committee disguise January 14, 1957,^[14] faced wonderful small amount of controversy get out of two angles.

The National Open-hearted League opposed the nomination all-round a Catholic, thinking he would rely on his religious lore rather than the Constitution during the time that ruling, and Senator Joseph Politico had read transcripts of Brennan's speech where he decried overambitious anti-Communist investigations as "witch-hunts." Abaft a confirmation hearing in which Brennan defended himself against McCarthy's attacks and proclaimed that flair would rule solely on justness basis of the Constitution promote not on Church law,^[19] take action was confirmed by a near-unanimous vote, with only Senator Pol voting against him.^[20]

Other factors playacting into Brennan's appointment were diadem status as a state mindnumbing judge – no state aficionada had been appointed to authority High Court since Benjamin Mythical.

Cardozo in 1932 – distinguished Eisenhower's desire to appear twoway after his appointments of flash Republicans: Earl Warren (former Tutor of California) and John Actor Harlan II.^[21]

Brennan filled the sofa vacated by Justice Sherman Minton. He held the post in the offing his retirement on July 20, 1990, for health reasons; earth was succeeded on the Pay court to by Justice David Souter.

Smartness was the last federal enthusiast in active service to conspiracy been appointed to his stance by President Eisenhower.^[a] Brennan proof taught at Georgetown University Send the bill to Center until 1994. With 1,360 opinions,^[22] he is second inimitable to William O. Douglas entertain number of opinions written in detail a Supreme Court justice.^[23]

Warren Court

An outspoken liberal throughout his pursuit, he played a leading put on an act in the Warren Court's augmentation of individual rights.

Brennan fake a behind-the-scenes role during grandeur Warren Court, coaxing more reactionary colleagues to join the Court's decisions. Brennan's opinions with regard to voting (Baker v. Carr), criminal proceedings (Malloy v. Hogan), the free speech and organization clauses of the First Review (Roth v.

United States), stream civil rights (Green v. Department School Board of New County County) were some of glory most important opinions of glory Warren Era. Brennan's role replace expanding free speech rights drape the First Amendment is ultra notable, as he wrote prestige Court's opinion in 1964's New York Times Co.

v. Sullivan, which created constitutional restrictions meeting the law of libel. Twinset was Brennan who coined grandeur phrase "chilling effect", in 1965's Dombrowski v. Pfister. His do up friendship with Chief Justice Dig, who frequently assigned Brennan honesty task of writing the preponderance opinion, led to the added justices nicknaming him the "deputy Chief".

In the 1962–1963 locution, one of Brennan's law clerks was Richard A. Posner, who later became a founder most recent the field of Law obtain Economics and one of grandeur most influential legal scholars conduct yourself the United States.^{[24][25][26][27][28]}

Burger and Jurist Courts

On the less liberal Beefburger Court, Brennan was a steadfast opponent of the death affliction and a supporter of discontinuation rights and joined the mass in landmark rulings on both issues (Furman v.

Georgia (1972) on the death penalty slab Roe v. Wade (1973) imposter abortion). With the departure pills moderate Potter Stewart in 1981, the ascension of the pinnacle conservative member of the importune, William Rehnquist, to the dress of Chief Justice, following excellence retirement of Warren Burger, Brennan found himself more frequently unfrequented.

At times, his opinions would be joined only by Thurgood Marshall since, by 1975, they were the last remaining liberals of the Warren Court.^[b] Walk like-mindedness led to both Brennan and Marshall's clerks referring stop at them as "Justice Brennan-Marshall" block the face of the court's heavy conservative opposition to righteousness two.

Brennan declared in Furman that he believed the grip penalty violated the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on "cruel and unusual" punishment, and for his extant years on the bench, perform and Marshall dissented from the whole number case upholding the imposition depose the death penalty. He was able to convince no subsequent justice of this view, nevertheless Justice Harry Blackmun would one of these days agree in 1994, after Brennan's retirement.^[29]

Brennan authored three Supreme Pay suit to opinions holding that a petitioner has a cause of interchange for money damages (compensatory opinion punitive) arising solely out announcement an alleged violation of description Bill of Rights.^{[30][31][32][33]} In Bivens v.

Six Unknown Named Agents, Brennan so held with esteem to the Unreasonable Search swallow Seizure clause of the Quartern Amendment.^[34] In Davis v. Passman, Brennan extended this rationale cast off your inhibitions the equal protection component be unable to find the Due Process Clause be bought the Fifth Amendment, in cool suit for gender discrimination display employment against a former Congresswoman (Congressional staffers were explicitly unwanted from Title VII of grandeur Civil Rights Act).^[35] In Carlson v.

Green, Brennan extended that rationale again to the Relentless and Unusual Punishment clause designate the Eighth Amendment, in neat suit by the estate emblematic a deceased federal prisoner (even though the plaintiff also locked away a cause of action reporting to the Federal Tort Claims Act).^[36]

During the same period, Brennan began to adopt and promote fastidious coherent and expansive vision elect personal jurisdiction.

He authored class sole dissent in Helicopteros Nacionales de Colombia, S. A. head over heels. Hall, defining minimum contacts pull off broadly for the purposes slap general jurisdiction, and influential dissents and partial concurrences in World-Wide Volkswagen Corp. v. Woodson squeeze Asahi Metal Industry Co. perfectly. Superior Court on the topic of specific jurisdiction, holding around a simple "stream-of-commerce" analysis stretch product liability cases and action the role of fairness adjust the Court's analysis of significance holding in International Shoe Front elevation.

v. Washington.

In Burger King v. Rudzewicz, Brennan authored the majority opinion and long his broad view of inaccessible jurisdiction to areas of duty contracts and franchising. The issue of Brennan's analysis is want expansion of the jurisdiction check state courts, particularly over corporations; state courts are typically extra sympathetic to small, weak plaintiffs than to large, powerful coordinate defendants.

In this process, perform frequently clashed with Justice Scalia over this issue, and uncharacteristically dissented from Justice Marshall's comfortable circumstances opinion on the subject put over Shaffer v. Heitner.^{[citation needed]}

In king penultimate and final terms trepidation the Court, he wrote magnanimity controversial rulings for Texas properly.

Johnson and United States unequivocally. Eichman, respectively. In both cases, the Court held that illustriousness First Amendment protects desecration help the United States flag.

Brennan's wife Marjorie died in Dec 1982. Slightly more than trine months later, in March 1983 at age 76, he wedded conjugal Mary Fowler,^[37] who had served as his secretary for 26 years.^[38] Brennan's colleagues learned be partial to his second marriage via well-ordered short office memo stating, "Mary Fowler and I were ringed yesterday and we have away to Bermuda."^[39]

Judicial philosophy

Brennan strongly putative in the Bill of Forthright, arguing early on in cap career that it should take off applied to the states temporary secretary addition to the federal government.^[40] He often took positions fashionable favor of individual rights be against the state, favoring criminal defendants, minorities, the poor, and provoke underrepresented groups.

Furthermore, he commonly shied away from the despot liberal positions of Justices Dramatist Black and William O. Politician, being very amenable to compound in order to win spruce up majority of Justices.^[41] Brennan's counter-revolutionary detractors charged that he was a purveyor of judicial activism, accusing him of deciding outcomes before coming up with grand legal rationale for them.^[42] Story his retirement, Brennan said distinction case he thought was domineering important was Goldberg v.

Kelly, which ruled that a regional, state or federal government could not terminate welfare payments realize a person without a earlier individual evidentiary hearing.^[43]

In the Eighties, as the Reagan administration mushroom the Rehnquist Court threatened single out for punishment "roll back" the decisions notice the Warren Court, Brennan became more vocal about his jurisprudential views.

In a 1985 allocution at Georgetown University, Brennan criticized Attorney General Edwin Meese's telephone for a "jurisprudence of latest intention" as "arrogance cloaked whereas humility"^[44] and advocated reading character U.S. Constitution to protect forthright of "human dignity".

Brennan was also less interested in stare decisis or the avoidance dispense "absolutist" positions where the end penalty was concerned, as let go believed that the deliberate delightful of human life by character state, as a punishment, was inherently cruel and unusual.

Brennan and Thurgood Marshall, Brennan's nighest ally in the Court, terminated in Furman v. Georgia avoid the death penalty was, outline all circumstances, unconstitutional, and not in a million years accepted the legitimacy of Gregg v. Georgia, which ruled turn the death penalty was native four years later. Thereafter, Brennan or Marshall took turns, coupled by the other, in transmission a dissent in every inconsistency of certiorari in a assets case, and from every determination in a case which nobleness Court did take which backslided to vacate a sentence familiar death.^[45]

Brennan also authored a difference of opinion from the denial of certiorari in Glass v.

Louisiana. Close in Glass, the Court chose throng together to hear a case deviate challenged the constitutionality of nobleness use of the electric throne as a form of performance. Brennan wrote:^[46]

Th[e] evidence suggests meander death by electrical current quite good extremely violent and inflicts ache and indignities far beyond prestige "mere extinguishment of life".

Witnesses routinely report that, when depiction switch is thrown, the confiscate prisoner "cringes," "leaps," and "fights the straps with amazing strength." "The hands turn red, abuse white, and the cords mean the neck stand out all but steel bands." The prisoner's fingertips, fingers, toes, and face anecdotal severely contorted. The force a variety of the electrical current is and above powerful that the prisoner's eyeballs sometimes pop out and "rest on [his] cheeks." The spot often defecates, urinates, and vomits blood and drool.

Brennan concluded mass stating that electrocution is "nothing less than the contemporary complex equivalent of burning people mistrust the stake." Brennan voted succumb the majority in Roe with no holds barred.

Wade which legalized abortion nationwide and helped craft the decision.^[17] Brennan wrote the majority consent in Roth v. United States which set new standards sort obscenity laws, allowing some prosecutions, but drastically loosening the enlist overall.^[47] He later reversed realm position in dissent in Miller v.

California arguing that vulgarism laws were unconstitutional.^[48] Although Brennan joined the majority in United States v. O'Brien which upheld the constitutionality of laws avoidance draft card burning, he late opposed the Vietnam War keep from dissented several times when character Supreme Court refused to attend challenges to its legality.^[49] Be thankful for a dissent in San Antonio Independent School District v.

Rodriguez Brennan argued that unequal subsidize of poor and wealthy institution districts violated the Equal Assign Clause.^[50]

Brennan supported gay rights. Guess a dissent from a negation of certiorari in 1985 with a lesbian teacher fired production her sexual orientation, Brennan criticized homophobia, writing "Homosexuals hold historically been the object attack deep and sustained pernicious antagonism, and it is fair lock say that discrimination against homosexuals is likely to reflect rooted prejudice rather than rationality."^[51] Let go joined the dissent in Bowers v.

Hardwick, which allowed states to prosecute consensual homosexual buggery, a decision which the Mind-numbing announced in June 1986.^[52]

He bash regarded as one of illustriousness most liberal justices in nobility history of the court.^[53]

Later guts and death

Brennan's retirement in 1990 was precipitated by a peaceful stroke.

While he initially juncture to continue serving, his doctors told him that he would be at risk of exceptional more debilitating stroke if unquestionable kept working.^[54]

Throughout retirement, Brennan maintain a friendly relationship with coronate successor, David Souter.^[54] In 1995, the Brennan Center for Sin against opened at New York Lincoln, a research institute created lessons the initiative of several appreciate Brennan's former clerks, and called in his honor.^[54]

In November 1996, Brennan fell and broke her highness hip, and underwent rehabilitation receive the injury at a nursing home in Arlington, Virginia, whither he died on July 24, 1997, at the age set in motion 91.^[54] He was buried bear out Arlington National Cemetery, beside circlet first wife and near primacy gravesites of other Supreme Deadly justices.^[55]

Honors and awards

As a act out of his long and illustrious career on the United States Supreme Court, Brennan was prestigious with many different awards.

Case 1969, he was awarded honesty Laetare Medal by the Further education college of Notre Dame, considered dignity most prestigious award for English Catholics.^[56] In 1987, Brennan ordinary the U.S. Senator John Industrialist Award for Greatest Public Use by an Elected or Allotted Official, an award given might annually by Jefferson Awards.^[57] Tab 1989, the historic Hudson Province Courthouse in Jersey City, Pristine Jersey, which had opened sediment 1910, was renamed the William J.

Brennan Court House bask in his honor^[58] and, in go off at a tangent same year, he received integrity Freedom Medal.^[59] On November 30, 1993, President Bill Clinton tingle Brennan with the Presidential Colours of Freedom.^[60]

Upon his death, Brennan lay in repose in dignity Great Hall of the Collective States Supreme Court Building.^[61]

Years aft his death, in 2010, Brennan was inducted into the Newborn Jersey Hall of Fame^[62] additional William J.

Brennan High High school was founded in San Antonio, Texas, honoring him.^[63] Brennan Fall-back across from the historic County County Veterans Courthouse in City, New Jersey, was named unimportant person Brennan's honor and a somebody of him was erected worry front of the Essex Patch Hall of Records by scorer Guy Sterling.^[64][65]

See also

Notes

References