BREAKING : CHIEF JUSTICE REHNQUIST PASSES AWAY
Posted in: Supreme Court
LA Times has the official statement from President George W. Bush regarding the passing of Chief Justice Rehnquist:
“President Bush and Mrs. Bush are deeply saddened by the news” of Rehnquist’s death, White House counselor Dan Bartlett said. “It’s a tremendous loss for our nation.” The president, after attending church services on Sunday, will make a statement about Rehnquist, presidential spokesman Scott McClellan said.
WASHINGTON Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist died Saturday evening at his home in suburban Virginia, said Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg. A statement from the spokeswoman said he was surrounded by his three children when he died in Arlington. “The Chief Justice battled thyroid cancer since being diagnosed last October and continued to perform his dues on the court until a precipitous decline in his health the last couple of days,” she said. Rehnquist was appointed to the Supreme Court as an associate justice in 1971 by President Nixon and took his seat on Jan. 7, 1982. He was elevated to chief justice by President Reagan in 1986.
The Life of William Rehnquist and his many accomplishments:
Rehnquist summarized his vision of the nation’s constitutional structure in a speech at the University of Texas a few years later:
It is almost impossible … to conclude that the [Founders] intended the Constitution itself to suggest answers to the manifold problems that they knew would confront succeeding generations. The Constitution that they drafted was intended to endure indefinitely, but the reason for this well-founded hope was the general language by which national authority was granted to Congress and the Presidency. These two branches were to furnish the motive power within the federal system, which was in turn to coexist with the state governments; the elements of government having a popular constituency were looked to for the solution of the numerous and varied problems that the future would bring.
See Rehnquist’s CV at Find Law
From CNN, Chief Justice Rehnquist has died. Rehnquist, who presided over the court for nearly 19 years, was 80.
Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who helped shift the U.S. Supreme Court toward a more conservative ideology and strongly supported states’ rights during his three decades on the bench, has died.
NY Times; William H. Rehnquist Dies at 80; Led Conservative Revolution on Supreme Court
William H. Rehnquist, who died Saturday at the age of 80, helped lead a conservative revolution on the Supreme Court during 19 notably successful years as chief justice of the United States.
The Washington Post; Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist Dies, article states the question that many have been pondering since Rehnquist was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Bush now has a major opportunity to attempt to reshape the highest court in the land.
Rehnquist’s death creates the need for two and perhaps three confirmation hearings. If Bush elevates a sitting justice to Rehnquist’s position, confirmation hearings will be required for the designated Chief Justice, as well as for replacements for the associate justice elevated as well as for Roberts.
Here is a real shame. Alan Dershowitz was on Fox around 1 AM, shortly after they Rehnquist’s passing calling him a Republican Thug. There are times and places for such discussions, and this is not one of them. We have the Audio.
Blogs Covering Chief Justice Rehnquist’s Passing:
- Wizbang
- Jawa Report
- The Moderate Voice
- Michelle Malkin
- Kos Calls for the suspension of Roberts Hearings
- Supreme Court Nomination Blog
- My Due Diligence has some interesting comments
- Ian The Political Teen (The Video King)
To Discuss the Passing of Chief Justice Rehnquist, visit the Scared Monkeys Discussion Forum.
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