Warren, Earl 1891-1974

CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE U.S. SUPREME COURT

A Revolution Made by Judges.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower once called his appointment of Earl Warren to the Chief Justice of the United States "the biggest damnfool mistake I ever made." Eisenhower regretted his choice because he had appointed Warren for his "integrity, honesty, and middle-of-the-road philosophy"—and while Warren's tenure on the Supreme Court certainly embodied those first two qualities, it just as certainly rejected the third. In fact, under Warren the Court practiced what is called "judicial activism," rejecting the tendency of more-conservative Courts to make decisions based on precedent, following the reasoning and authority of earlier, similar decisions. The Warren court frequently overruled earlier decisions, greatly expanding Americans' civil and individual rights even when there was no precedent for such rulings. The changes in the constitutional rights...

[The entire page is 871 words long]

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass