Rehnquist Unwavering As Justice
He was last seen by the general public at President Bush's second swearing in. It was a role he cherished and one his colleagues appreciated.
Momentous occasions, after all, were William H. Rehnquist's stock-in-trade, CBS News Correspondent Jim Stewart reports.
Who can forget his solemnity, for example, at President Clinton's impeachment trial, announcing stoicly, "he hereby is acquitted of the charges in the said articles."
Or, his bland announcement of the most divisive case of his tenure: "We will hear argument now in number 009-49, George W. Bush and Richard Cheney vs. Albert Gore."
But, in his 19 years as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Rehnquist's legacy extends far beyond the headline cases. He oversaw a fundamental roll back of liberal causes and championed a far more conservative agenda for America.
Under Rehnquist "criminals found it harder to get multiple appeals in federal court." The "line between church and state became more porous." "Affirmative action became more difficult to implement" and in the long stand fight between the federal government and the states, "the states gained more power," Stewart says.
It was an agenda, says Georgetown law professor Mark Tushnet, who has written about the Rehnquist court that never wavered.
Over the years is this a man who moderated his views or changed them to any significant degree, Stewart asks?
"I don't think his fundamental views changed over the roughly 30 years he was on the court," Tushnet says.
Over the years, Rehnquist even learned to be persuasive.
"I think toward the end of his tenure he was more sensitive to the compromises that you have to make if you're going to assemble a majority," Tushnet explains.
And his court's biggest decisions stand as the evidence: they upheld the independent counsel act, paving the way for Kenneth Starr's prosecution of Bill Clinton. They outlawed gun-free zones near schools, leaving it to locals to decide instead and, upheld school vouchers.
Born in Wisconsin in 1924, Rehnquist served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He was plucked from obscurity in 1969 by President Nixon to be assistant Attorney General. Just two years later his colleagues learned he'd been elevated again: this time to associate justice of the Supreme Court. From the beginning he was a man of few words for the press.
When approached by CBS News' Bob Schieffer for an interview, Rehnquist shot back, "No. I'd rather not, thank you."
Rehnquist's conservative ways on the court later caught the eye of Mr. Conservative himself Ronald Reagan, who elevated Rehnquist to chief justice and even got a grin from the man with a surprise birthday party.
His last years were not comfortable ones on the court, however. Physically, in addition to his battle with cancer, Rehnquist was hobbled by a bad back and professionally he chafed that he'd never been able to outlaw abortion.
Tushnet says, "I think he'd look back and say his greatest disappointment was his inability to lead the court to overrule Roe V. Wade."
A case that Rehnquist trained his eyes on for years and one his successor and the nation are almost certain to confront once again.