The Challenge of Supreme Court Biography: The Case of Chief Justice Rehnquist

29 Constitutional Commentary 271 (2014).

Chicago-Kent College of Law Research Paper No. 2014-19

22 Pages Posted: 6 Jul 2014 Last revised: 8 May 2015

See all articles by Christopher W. Schmidt

Christopher W. Schmidt

Chicago-Kent College of Law; American Bar Foundation

Date Written: April 2, 2014

Abstract

In this review essay of John A. Jenkins’ The Partisan: The Life of William Rehnquist, I pursue three goals. First, I identify what is useful in The Partisan: information, some new, some helpful elaborations of what was already known, which helps us better understand Chief Justice Rehnquist, the private man and the public jurist. Second, I examine what Jenkins is trying to do in this book and where he runs into problems. The most obvious flaw of this biography is its relentless tendentiousness. The author clearly dislikes Rehnquist, and he uses the biography as a vehicle for an extended, largely unpersuasive, ad hominem attack on his subject. But Jenkins’ goal is not merely to criticize Rehnquist the jurist. It is to “unmask” Rehnquist, to conflate his personality and his judicial views and thereby reveal the core of the man. Jenkins, predictably, finds what he was looking for: a harsh, uncaring, and deeply conservative ideologue. But in the process he presents a version of Rehnquist that not only fails to align with certain known facts about the man, but also lacks the complex humanity of a fully drawn biographical subject. Finally, I argue that the problems that this particular book puts in high relief are in fact symptomatic of the genre of Supreme Court biography. My critique of this particular book thus provides a platform to consider the unique obstacles faced by any biographer of a Supreme Court Justice.

Keywords: Rehnquist, Chief Justice, biography, Supreme Court, legal history

Suggested Citation

Schmidt, Christopher W., The Challenge of Supreme Court Biography: The Case of Chief Justice Rehnquist (April 2, 2014). 29 Constitutional Commentary 271 (2014)., Chicago-Kent College of Law Research Paper No. 2014-19, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2462794

Christopher W. Schmidt (Contact Author)

Chicago-Kent College of Law ( email )

565 W. Adams St.
Chicago, IL 60661-3691
United States

American Bar Foundation ( email )

750 N. Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, IL 60611
United States

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