Brennan, William J., Jr. 1906-1993

BRENNAN, WILLIAM J., JR. 1906-1993

Supreme court justice

Legal Reformer

Appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1956 as a legal reformer by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, William J. Brennan, Jr. became over the next two decades the leading liberal on the court.

Background

Brennan began his judicial career in 1950, when he was appointed to the Superior Court of New Jersey. In 1952 he was promoted to the New Jersey Supreme Court. His decisions on that court show his zeal to reform court procedure in order to reduce unfair delays. They also reflect Brennan's interest in the real people whose difficulties are often overlooked by appellate judges grappling with the abstract principles presented by their cases. When Justice Sherman Minton announced his retirement from the U.S. Supreme Court in 1956, Eisenhower chose Brennan as his replacement despite the fact that Brennan was a Democrat. Brennan took his seat on 16 October 1956 during a congressional recess, and he was not confirmed until March 1957. Sen. Joseph McCarthy cast the lone negative vote on confirmation. President Eisenhower later lamented that the two great mistakes of his presidency were lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court—Earl Warren and William J. Brennan, Jr.

Leading Liberal

During his early years on the Court Brennan became the lieutenant to Chief Justice Earl Warren, joining and leading the liberal majority. Among his more than 450 majority-written opinions, many were crucial in the radical changes in American law and society in the 1960s. Baker v. Carr was the "one man, one vote" decision that was an important evolution of democratic theory in the United States. New York Times v. Sullivan made it more difficult for public officials to sue newspapers for libel. Fay v. Noia established a federal-court role in reviewing state court convictions.

A Voice of Dissent

During the 1960s Brennan very seldom dissented from court opinions—a symbol of the liberal majority of the Court. During the 1970s and 1980s he became the leader of the shrinking liberal wing against a nascent conservative majority. His persuasive personality still managed to wring court victories in that environment, though he became better known for ringing dissents that put forth his view of "the supremacy of human dignity of every individual."

Sources:

Clare Cushman, The Supreme Court Justices: Illustrated Biographies, 1789-1993 (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 1993);

Stephen J. Friedman, ed., An Affair With Freedom: Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. (New York: Atheneum, 1970).