A True October Surprise: The Added Surprises
- Thread starter lord caedus
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William Brennan
Perhaps the most influential American jurist of the 20th century, William Brennan wrote the majority decision for several of the most important American cases after his 1956 appointment to the court and became, alongside his predecessor Earl Warren, an icon for American liberalism and the power of the courts to address injustice and protect individual rights. Initially appointed by Dwight Eisenhower as a combination bipartisan gesture and electoral calculation (Brennan's status as a northeastern Catholic was intended to help Eisenhower in that region of the country in his re-election bid), Brennan was a strong and persuasive voice behind the scenes for the liberal wing of the court and his friendship with Warren resulted in the chief assigning him to write the judicial opinions for several important cases. As an associate justice, notable opinions that Brennan wrote included Baker v. Carr (which ruled that the courts could rule on legislative redistricting), New York Times v. Sullivan (which set standards for bringing libel and malice suits by public officials), and Green v. County School Board of New Kent (which the courts ruled that "school choice" system was not effective in desegregating public schools).
After Warren announced his retirement and the nomination of Abe Fortas to replace him failed, a newly-elected President Humphrey nominated Brennan to succeed Warren instead. After the Fortas debacle and with Humphrey promising to name Homer Thornberry (a southern liberal, but one with a conservative record on law and order issues), alongside Brennan's popularity with his fellow justices, the Senate did not feel like challenging the new president yet and agreed to both appointments (and soon Humphrey’s reappointment of Arthur Goldberg to replace a disgraced Fortas).
As chief justice, Brennan presided over another liberal court, with only one justice (John Paul Stevens) being appointed by a Republican president during his tenure. His legacy marked a consolidation and continuation of the Warren Court's push towards individual rights, including extending the right of privacy to include a woman getting an abortion (Roe v. Wade), the right to healthcare (Conservative Majority v. Bowen), and that bans on homosexuality were unconstitutional (Charles v. Smith). The Brennan Court was also famous for instituting a temporary moratorium on capital punishment between 1972 (Furman v. Georgia) and 1977 (Jurek v. Texas), which resulted in a serious reformation of capital punishment laws on both the state and federal levels- although Brennan himself bitterly fought against its reinstatement and remained an adamant opponent of the death penalty until his retirement, notably taking part in the majority decision in McCormack v. Kemp that resulted in the overturning of death penalty convictions in several states where proven that death penalty sentencing had occurred in an a racially-biased manner.
Brennan himself also was the subject of national controversy. After the death of his first wife in 1982, the 77 year-old chief justice married a woman who had been his secretary for over a quarter-century, with no warning, provoking moral outrage among social conservatives and whispers of an affair during his first marriage (which subsequent biographers have never proven). An "Impeach Brennan" campaign briefly began before fizzling out from disinterest and the belief that Brennan would soon die or retire- but he would in fact continue serving for another seven years.
After Justice Goldberg’s death in early 1990, the first change in the court's composition in nearly a decade, Brennan took the opportunity to inform President Huddleston of his intent to retire, citing his age and increasingly poor health. Replaced by Gilbert Merritt, Brennan ended his 33 year-tenure on the court that he loved so much, visiting his former colleagues often in retirement before passing away at age 91 in 1997.
After Warren announced his retirement and the nomination of Abe Fortas to replace him failed, a newly-elected President Humphrey nominated Brennan to succeed Warren instead. After the Fortas debacle and with Humphrey promising to name Homer Thornberry (a southern liberal, but one with a conservative record on law and order issues), alongside Brennan's popularity with his fellow justices, the Senate did not feel like challenging the new president yet and agreed to both appointments (and soon Humphrey’s reappointment of Arthur Goldberg to replace a disgraced Fortas).
As chief justice, Brennan presided over another liberal court, with only one justice (John Paul Stevens) being appointed by a Republican president during his tenure. His legacy marked a consolidation and continuation of the Warren Court's push towards individual rights, including extending the right of privacy to include a woman getting an abortion (Roe v. Wade), the right to healthcare (Conservative Majority v. Bowen), and that bans on homosexuality were unconstitutional (Charles v. Smith). The Brennan Court was also famous for instituting a temporary moratorium on capital punishment between 1972 (Furman v. Georgia) and 1977 (Jurek v. Texas), which resulted in a serious reformation of capital punishment laws on both the state and federal levels- although Brennan himself bitterly fought against its reinstatement and remained an adamant opponent of the death penalty until his retirement, notably taking part in the majority decision in McCormack v. Kemp that resulted in the overturning of death penalty convictions in several states where proven that death penalty sentencing had occurred in an a racially-biased manner.
Brennan himself also was the subject of national controversy. After the death of his first wife in 1982, the 77 year-old chief justice married a woman who had been his secretary for over a quarter-century, with no warning, provoking moral outrage among social conservatives and whispers of an affair during his first marriage (which subsequent biographers have never proven). An "Impeach Brennan" campaign briefly began before fizzling out from disinterest and the belief that Brennan would soon die or retire- but he would in fact continue serving for another seven years.
After Justice Goldberg’s death in early 1990, the first change in the court's composition in nearly a decade, Brennan took the opportunity to inform President Huddleston of his intent to retire, citing his age and increasingly poor health. Replaced by Gilbert Merritt, Brennan ended his 33 year-tenure on the court that he loved so much, visiting his former colleagues often in retirement before passing away at age 91 in 1997.
Damn. I knew Brennan was awesome, but you made him grab social conservatism by its balls and jam his thumb up its prostate.
Beautiful!
Beautiful!
He's one of our state's shames, OK? We gave you Earl Warren and Jerry Brown, though.
You also gave us Ron Dellums, Pete McCloskey, and Harvey Milk. You're fine.
But ITTL, he's one of your nation's shames.
Prime Ministers Earl Warren and Jerry Brown. That would be awesome.
Oh, yeah, yeah, I remember now. You know what, Dellums and Milk are fine.
