Earl Warren

Earl Warren, b. 1891 d. 1974.

Early Professional Life

Prior to serving on the Court, Warren had an impeccably conservative, pro-status-quo record. As governor of California, Warren had supervised the Japanese internments discussed in the famous Korematsu v. U.S. case, now reviled as an example of America at its worst. As such, President Dwight Eisenhower considered Warren a safe appointee to the Supreme Court.

On the Supreme Court

Earl Warren was most known for his role as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1953 to 1969.

Brown v. Board of Education

Eisenhower belief that Warren would prove right-of-center was quickly proven wrong. Warren acceded to the position of Chief Justice while Brown v. Board of Education was being reargued at the behest of associate Justice Frankfurter, who ordered reargument as a stalling tactic, to allow the Justice to gather a unanimous consensus around a liberal Brown opinion that would outlaw segregation. Associate Justice Vinson was one such stalling tactic: a staunch conservative, Vinson was a strong believer in segregation.

As a result of his accession at this difficult time, liberals prayed that Warren would prove the uniter the Court needed to overrule Plessy v. Ferguson, while conservatives prayed that Warren would either be unable or unwilling to do so. Warren quickly proved an effective leader, and much more liberal than Eisenhower had ever dreamed.

Warren convened a meeting of the associate justices, and presented to them the simple argument that the only reason to sustain segregation was an honest belief in the inferiority of African Americans. Warren further submitted that the Court must overrule Plessy to maintain its legitimacy as an institution of liberty, and it must do so unanimously to avoid massive Southern resistance. He began to build a unanimous opinion.

Although many justices were convinced, Warren spent some time after this famous speech convincing two holdouts for segregation to sign onto the opinion. The first (Justice Vinson) died during this initiative. The second finally decided to drop his dissent to what was by then a moderate opinion backed by the remaining six justices.

Warren's final opinion is considered a political masterwork, not just for his political gamesmanship, but for his general writing, making use of resources outside the law to prove the inherent inequality of segregation. Although the opinion generated staunch resistance, it generated considerably less than it would have absent Warren's leadership.

The Warren Court, Continued

Chief Justice Warren authored a number of other cases, such as the case defining American citizens' Miranda rights.

References

Brest, Levinson, et al, "Processes of Constitutional Decisionmaking, Cases & Materials, 5th Ed.," pp 898-950.