“That four great nations, flushed with victory and stung with injury stay the hand of vengeance and voluntarily submit their captive enemies to the judgment of the law is one of the most significant tributes that Power has ever paid to Reason.” — from Jackson's Opening Statement before the International Military Tribunal

William H. Rehnquist


Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, who has led the Supreme Court since 1986, will deliver the keynote address at the dedication of the Robert H. Jackson Center in Jamestown on Friday, May 16, 2003.

Rehnquist served from 1952 to 1953 as law clerk to Robert H. Jackson, a former U.S. Attorney General, U.S. Supreme Court Justice and chief prosecuting attorney at the Nuremberg War Trials.

Biographical Data

Birth, Residence, and Family
Born October 1, 1924, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The son of William Benjamin Rehnquist and Margery Peck Rehnquist. Married Natalie Cornell of San Diego, California
Children: James, born 1955, Janet, born 1957; Nancy, born 1959.
The family are members of Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Bethesda, Maryland.

Education
Attended public schools in Shorewood, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee.
Stanford University, B.A., M.A. 1948
Phi Beta Kappa; Harvard University, M.A., 1950
Stanford University, LL.B., 1952, Order of the Coif.

Law Clerkship
Clerk to Justice Robert H. Jackson, Supreme Court of the United States, February 1952-June 1953

Law Practice
Private practice of law, Phoenix, Arizona, 1953-1969. Engaged in a general practice of law with primary emphasis on civil litigation.

Government Service
Served in the United States Army Air Corps in this country and overseas from 1943 to 1946. Discharged with the rank of sergeant.
Appointed Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel, by President Nixon in January 1969.

Judicial Offices
Nominated Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States by President Nixon on October 21, 1971; sworn in on January 7, 1972.
Nominated Chief Justice of the United States by President Reagan on June 17, 1986; sworn in on September 26, 1986.

Other Activities
Active in professional, civic, and church affairs while living in Phoenix. Contributor of articles on legal subjects to various periodicals.

Links to Websites about Chief Justice Rehnquist
United States Supreme Court Website
C-SPAN Website
CNN Website
USA Today Website