Honoring and Recognizing the Distinguished Service, Career, and Achievement of Chief Justice William Hubbs Rehnquist Upon his Death

HONORING AND RECOGNIZING THE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE, CAREER, AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF CHIEF JUSTICE WILLIAM HUBBS REHNQUIST UPON HIS DEATH -- (House of Representatives - September 07, 2005)

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the order of the House entered into previously today, I call up the resolution (H. Res. 423) honoring and recognizing the distinguished service, career, and achievements of Chief Justice William Hubbs Rehnquist upon his death, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 423 which honors and recognizes the distinguished service, career, and achievements of Chief Justice William Hubbs Rehnquist upon his death.

Mr. Speaker, the passing of Chief Justice Rehnquist means that a long and distinguished career has come to an end. William Rehnquist was born on October 1, 1924, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and was raised in nearby Shorewood, Wisconsin, which currently lies in the congressional district I am proud to represent. The future Chief Justice attended Kenyon College briefly before joining the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II.

Following his career in the Army, Chief Justice Rehnquist attended and graduated from Stanford University, where he received a bachelor's and master's degree in political science and a second master's degree in government from Harvard University.

At Stanford Law School, the future Chief Justice graduated first in the class that famously included his future colleague, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. It was also at Stanford Law School that the Chief Justice met his future wife, Natalie ``Nan'' Cornell, whom he married in 1953.

After graduation, William Rehnquist clerked for Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson for the 1952 and 1953 terms. He then went on to practice as an attorney in his adopted home State of Arizona for several years before returning to Washington, DC, to serve as Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, where he advised the Nixon administration on constitutional law from 1969 until 1971.

On October 22, 1971, President Nixon nominated William Rehnquist to fill the vacancy on the United States Supreme Court created by Justice John Marshall Harlan's retirement. The Senate confirmed him to the post of Associate Justice on December 10, 1971, and he was sworn into office on January 7, 1972, at the age of 47.

Under his leadership, federalism, judicial restraint, and State autonomy once again became staple features of the Court's jurisprudence. Chief Justice Rehnquist deeply respected the proper roles of each branch of government and the separation of powers envisioned by our Founders. He repeatedly acknowledged that the first amendment to the Constitution guaranteed the free exercise of religion.

By the time President Reagan nominated him to become the 16th Chief Justice of the United States on June 20, 1986, to replace Warren Burger, the pieces were in place for the Chief Justice to make a profound impact on American jurisprudence. His commitment to his principles were evidenced in his majority opinion upholding Cleveland, Ohio's program of school vouchers, which allowed public school students in poor areas to use vouchers to attend better, and often religious, schools, against an Establishment Clause challenge. His support for freedom of religion was also evidenced in his concurring opinion of Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow, in which he rightly concluded that the phrase ``under God'' in the Pledge of Allegiance was not a violation of the Establishment Clause.

Most recently, Chief Justice Rehnquist joined Justice O'Connor's dissent in Kelo v. City of New London in which they correctly concluded that it is a violation of the fifth amendment's Public Use Clause when a government takes private property and gives it to another private entity to use for private commercial purposes.

Apart from the doctrinal changes the Chief Justice brought to the Court, he also streamlined the manner in which the Court operated. His keen intellect and evenhandedness were appreciated by all of his colleagues. On the 30th anniversary of Rehnquist's swearing in, Justice John Paul Stevens, who often found himself on the opposite side of opinions from the Chief Justice, praised him for the ``efficiency, good humor, and absolute impartiality that you have consistently displayed when presiding at our conferences.'' These traits have led observers of all political persuasions to view Chief Justice Rehnquist as one of the most consequential jurists in our history.

When Chief Justice Rehnquist was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in October of 2004, many of his admirers feared that his tenure on the Court would come to an end. The Chief Justice, however, had other plans and continued to make his presence felt on the Court even as he battled his disease. Unfortunately, last Saturday, Chief Justice Rehnquist lost that battle, and the country has lost a great intellect and a great public servant. His decision to swear in President George W. Bush last January while battling his illness inspired millions of Americans.

From a personal standpoint, let me say that I first met the future Chief Justice back in 1968 going door-to-door while running for a seat in the Wisconsin Assembly, and when I knocked on his parents' door, they introduced me to the Chief Justice-to-be, and he and I have kept contact up for a number of years until he passed away, both before he was selected for the Court and I was elected to the Congress.

As the chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, let me say that I deeply appreciated the Chief Justice's invitations to address the twice-yearly meetings of the Judicial Conference of the United States on issues relating to the separation of powers and the interrelationship to how the laws the Congress passes relate to the operation of the third branch of government. I can say that the Chief Justice was extremely responsive when I had complained that the Judicial Discipline statute enacted in 1980 was not being utilized properly and effectively in terms of disciplining judges in the appeals court and in the lower Federal courts that may have strayed from the bounds of propriety and the ethical standards that we hope all of the judges will uphold.

I can say that probably one of my most profound memories of the Chief Justice was at a Judicial Conference meeting on the morning of September 11, 2001, where, because I had the first three bills up on the floor at 10 o'clock, the Chief Justice put me on first. At that time the Twin Towers had both been hit, and the Chief Justice came in, sat down and said, ``Jim, make this snappy. Something bad is going on.''

So my remarks got condensed to a minute and a half and the Chief Justice said, ``There are no questions of the chairman, are there?'' And everybody else in the room got the message, so I was then excused, and when I got here to the Capitol to make the three motions for suspensions of the rules, the Pentagon had already been hit. So the Chief Justice, I think, was advised that we were all in danger, he wanted to get the business done despite the danger, and he was able to do that. I think that this shows his character, and it is a way that touched me in an extremely personal way.

While the country has lost so much, his family, including his children James, Nancy, and Janet, and his six grandchildren have lost a loving family member as well. I know that the whole House will join me in extending our condolences to his family and our thanks for his great service to this country. I hope that all Members will join me in supporting House Resolution 423 honoring, recognizing, and expressing our gratitude for the distinguished service, career, and achievements of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

http://thomas.loc.gov