“Politically or ideologically oriented evaluations of Chief Justice Rehnquist should not overlook what a successful and popular chief justice he was within the Court as the justices' presiding officer. The contrast between Rehnquist's undeniably happy Court and that of his predecessor, Warren E. Burger, could not have been greater.”
David Garrow
“THE MIDDLE CLASS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING”
Kenneth waters Jr
“Politically or ideologically oriented evaluations of Chief Justice Rehnquist should not overlook what a successful and popular chief justice he was within the Court as the justices' presiding officer, ... The contrast between Rehnquist's undeniably happy Court and that of his predecessor, Warren E. Burger, could not have been greater.”
“Rehnquist thought [the court] had gone way too far, and in many dissents was working to cut it back. He succeeded, and he began to succeed even before he became chief justice. He gradually cut back federal-court supervision of state prosecutions. [The death penalty ban] was reversed. And the limits upon prosecutors and police were rationalized and relaxed.”
Charles Fried
“Even if he is more likely to be a Rehnquist than a Thomas, the downside of him being a Thomas outweighed the upside of him being a Rehnquist,”
Charles Schumer
“If he is a Rehnquist, that would not be a cause for exultation in my book, but it would not be a cause for alarm. The court's balance will not be altered. But there is a reasonable danger that he will be like Justice Thomas, the most radical justice on the Supreme Court. It is not that I am certain that he will be a Thomas, it's not even that it's more than 50 percent, but the risk that he might be a Thomas and the lack of any reassurance that he won't, particularly in light of this president's professed desire to nominate people in that mold, is just not good enough. I hope he will not be a Justice Thomas but the risk is too great to bear.”
Chuck Schumer
“That's when I realized that somebody like Rehnquist was absolutely ideal.”
John Dean
