Chief Justice Rehnquist Dies

After battling thyroid cancer since being diagnosed with the condition last October, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist passed away last night. Chief Justice Rehnquist spent 33 years on the Supreme Court, initially taking his seat under Nixon. President Regan elevated Rehnquist to Chief Justice in 1986. In his time on the court, the staunch conservative Rehnquist was very vocal when dealing with important issues. He opposed the Roe v. Wade decision. He believed religion has a place in government, and was angry when the Supreme Court chose not to rule on the constitutionality on the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools. He may be best remembered for presiding over Clinton's impeachment trial and for being one of five Republican-nominated justices who voted to stop presidential ballot recounts in Florida.

His death creates a rare two-seat vacancy on the Supreme Court. Most people believed that he would announce his retirement after Judge Sandra Day O'Connor announced she was leaving, but instead Rehnquist disappeared from the public eye while he was receiving treatment for his cancer. So now President Bush will appoint both a new Justice and a new Chief Justice. These two decisions will have a huge impact on American law for many years to come. Many fear that this may begin a new chapter of Draconian rule that will slowly strip Americans of their already decreasing civil liberties. Others say that Bush is partial enough to appoint nominees without agendas who are able to see the big picture regardless of any political affiliations. So what's it gonna be readers, are we going to get ID implants in our forearms or what?

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By Rod Barrera in News on September 4, 2005 10:00 AM 0 Comments

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Rod

from http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20050905%2F0816668144.htm&sc=1154&photoid=20050719WX106

President Bush on Monday nominated John Roberts to succeed William H. Rehnquist as chief justice, and called on the Senate to confirm him before the Supreme Court opens its fall term on Oct. 3

summer

as much as i hate gwb, it's hard to imagine an appointment worse than rehnquist. to quote my dad:

"I’ve been reflecting on it, at least a little, and the fact is, Rehnquist is one of the worst justices in the history of the country -- he criticized Jefferson’s separation of church and state as a “bad metaphor” and believed the federal government could fund religion; he led the Bush v. Gore decision team; he expanded the police state and limited citizens rights; he dissented in Roe v. Wade; he brought back the death penalty. The fact his vote won’t be on the court is a good thing. With him and O’Connor gone, a lot of good decisions may come out of the Supreme Court this fall! "