REHNQUIST, WILLIAM HUBBS

born Oct. 1, 1924, Milwaukee, Wis., U.S. 16th chief justice of the United States (from 1986). Rehnquist graduated from Stanford University in 1948. He earned a law degree from Stanford Law School in 1952 and then served as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson. He practiced law in Phoenix, Ariz., from 1953 to 1969, becoming active in the conservative wing of the Republican Party during those years. In 1969 President Richard M. Nixon appointed him assistant attorney general of the Office of Legal Counsel for the Department of Justice. In that post Rehnquist showed himself to be a staunch advocate of greatly enlarged police powers and proved generally hostile to civil-rights legislation. In October 1971 President Nixon nominated Rehnquist to a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. After extended Senate committee hearings in which liberals tried to defeat the nomination, he was finally confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 6826 in December 1971. He took his seat on the court in January 1972. The vigorous and articulate Rehnquist formed the anchor of the court's conservative minority bloc during the 1970s and into the '80s. His polished legal opinions and consistently conservative stance on almost all legal issues prompted President Ronald W. Reagan in June 1986 to nominate him to replace Warren E. Burger as chief justice of the Supreme Court. He was confirmed by the Senate that same year. As chief justice, Rehnquist dramatically reduced the court's caseload and improved its efficiency. He was successful in leading the court along a conservative path, attaining key decisions to restrict the Federal courts' power of habeas corpus and curb the ability of Congress to expand federal authority. He was, however, on the dissenting side of the court's reaffirmation of abortion rights and its protection of gay rights, two of the most publicized decisions of his tenure as chief justice.