The Rehnquist Court: Understanding Its Impact and Legacy

by David L. Hudson Jr.

For nearly 20 years, William Hubbs Rehnquist served as the 16th Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. During these two decades, the Court issued major decisions involving federalism, abortion, affirmative action, civil rights, privacy, and the 2000 presidential election. Throughout his tenure, Justice Rehnquist was conventionally perceived as a conservative, partly for the anti-civil rights memos he had written earlier in his career. He became a lightning rod for controversy during his confirmation hearings in 1972 for Associate Justice and again in 1986 when he became Chief Justice. Surprisingly, however, Hudson's balanced, nonpartisan examination of the Rehnquist Court and its personalities shows that Rehnquist's conservatism is quite mild compared to that of the ideological purity of Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia, and that Rehnquist did an admirable job of playing moderator as Chief Justice, exhibiting sensitivity toward his colleagues.

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

David L. Hudson Jr. is a scholar at the First Amendment Center. Hudson writes for firstamendmentcenter.org and for other publications devoted to First Amendment issues. He is the author or co-author of more than 30 books, including several on the U.S. Supreme Court, the Constitution and student rights.

He is a First Amendment contributing editor for the American Bar Association’s Preview of United States Supreme Court Cases. Hudson graduated from Duke University in 1990 and obtained a law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1994. He teaches First Amendment classes at Nashville School of Law and Vanderbilt University Law School. He also teaches at Middle Tennessee State University.