Chief Justice Rehnquist

I thought it would be appropriate, if not obligatory, for a law school blog to make note of the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist. To be honest, I don't know a lot about him, which led me to do a bit of research.

On the pro-side, he was a supporter of a strong judiciary and stood up to attacks by the far right calling for limited judicial powers. On the con-side, his political views were pretty far to the right for my tastes. He was one of the justices who penned a dissent to Roe v. Wade, for example.

But I think that the most interesting article I turned up was this one:

http://www.jsonline.com/news/nat/sep05/353263.asp

So as Bush gets ready to appoint more toadies to the Supreme Court (see John Roberts recent butt-kissing comments upon being nominated as Chief Justice), I'd like to take a moment to remember Chief Justice Rehnquist, respected intellectual, strong leader, and flashy dresser.