Resolved by the Board of Governors of the State Bar of Arizona that the said Board of Governors unanimously endorses the nomination and appointment of WILLIAM H. REHNQUIST as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States; and be it further Resolved, that the president of this association be, and he is hereby authorized and directed to proceed in an appropriate manner to communicate this endorsement to the Judiciary Committee of the United States Senate, including, but not limited to, an appearance by a representative of the State Bar of Arizona before such committee in support of Mr. Rehniquist's nomination and appointment. The above resolution was unanimously adopted by the Board of Governors of the State Bar of Arizona at its meeting on October 23, 1971. Attest: HOWARD H. KARMAN, President. ELDON L. HUSTED, Executive Director. MOORE, ROMLEY, KAPLAN, ROBBINS & GREEN, Sen. EDWARD W. BROOKE, DEAR SENATOR BROOKE: As the Senate undertakes to deliberate upon President Nixon's recent nominations, I urge your favorable consideration of the appointment of William H. Rehnquist as as Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. I have known Mr. Rehnquist well as a professional colleague for many years. He is an outstanding lawyer, completely thorough, scholarly, perceptive, articulate and possessed of the utmost integrity as well as a keen wit. He enjoys the highest respect of his fellow lawyers for his legal talent. There is, in my mind, no question about Mr. Rehnquist's legal qualifications to serve upon the Supreme Court. Parenthetically, I wish to state that I do not share much of Mr. Rehnquist's political views or philosophy. But that hardly detracts from his legal abilities or from my recognition of those abilities. Nor am I aware of any real basis for characterizing his views as extremist. Mr. Rehnquist is a consummate advocate, as any good lawyer must be. He states his views (or the views of those whom he represents) with the zeal of a skilled advocate. This is what he is trained to do, and should not be misunderstood as extremism. For many years I have worked to build bridges of communication and understanding among our many groups of people in Phoenix. I have been, and am, most concerned with prejudice and discrimination against minority groups. In 1963, I was appointed by the Mayor to the City of Phoenix Human Relations Commission, which is dedicated to the elimination of this monstrous social disease. For several years I served as Chairman of the Commission. I have also served as President or Chairman of other organizations whose functions are to promote better human relations among all people. In all my years of intergroup relations in this community, I never once heard reference to Mr. Rehnquist as bearing hostility toward minority persons. He did, as I recall, disagree with the content of certain proposed civil rights legislation at both the City and State levels. But unlike others, whose opposition was clearly suspect, Mr. Rehnquist's objections were based on legal grounds which he presented in a sincere fashion. I do not profess to know everything Mr. Rehnquist has ever said or done. On the basis of what I do know, however, I believe that it is neither accurate nor fair to label him as a "racist," sophisticated or otherwise. If desired by the Senate Judiciary Committee, I would be happy to appear and testify in greater detail in favor of the appointment of Mr. Rehnquist. By copy of this letter to Senator Eastland, I am informing him of my availability. Yours very truly, JARRIL F. KAPLAN. Hon. JAMES O. EASTLAND, New Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. STANFORD LAW SCHOOL, Stanford, Calif., October 28, 1971. DEAR SENATOR EASTLAND: This letter expresses my unqualified and enthusiastic support of the nomination of William H. Rehnquist as Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and the hope that his nomination will be speedily approved by the Committee and confirmed by the Senate. During his student days in the Stanford Law School I came to intimately know Bill Rehnquist in the classroom, in my office, and in my home. Since his graduation in 1952 we have kept in touch with each other and have had frequent chats about his professional activities in private practice and in pubilc service. As a student he was nothing short of brilliant, dogged in his determination to achieve excellence and persistent in his expectation of excellence on the other side of the podium. I vividly recall that in the give and take of the classroom he tested my stature and sharpened my thinking as an instructor many times. He was always forthright and courageous, never equivocal, never evasive, always refined and profound in his analysis of difficult problems; his thoughts were always precisely formulated and precisely expressed. In those days it was so very easy for one like myself to predict with complete confidence that he would have a distinguished professional career, that he would become, as the President has called him, a "lawyer's lawyer," and that he would fully meet his obligations to society as a lawyer citizen. Bill Rehnquist is not only qualified, but is eminently qualified to be a Justice of the Supreme Court. He is a fine person, a lawyer of extraordinary ability and competence, extraordinarily well equipped to meet and resolve with wisdom and good judgment those delicate and complex issues which confront a Justice, and above all else he is a man of complete intellectual and personal integrity. He will have a distinguished career on the Court. DEAR SENATOR EASTLAND: It was my privilege to serve as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel, United States Department of from May, 1969 through July, 1970. In that capacity, I worked very closely with Justice, during the period from May, 1969 through July, 1970. In that capacity, I worked very closely which William H. Rehnquist, the Assistant Attorney General for the office nominated for a Supreme Court position by the President last week. I urge you to support his nomination. William H. Rehnquist is as fine a lawyer as I have encountered. He has a scholarly, intellectual approach to legal problems which is not found in many practicing lawyers. While he and I did not always agree on the resolution of legal issues, I always received a fair hearing and found him eager to learn all that he could before making a decision. In addition to a powerful legal mind, and perhaps equally as important, Mr. Rehnquist has abiding interest in and concern for the development of the law and legal institutions. He has all the qualities to become a truly great judge, and to assume a substantial degree of intellectual leadership on the Court for a number of years to come. Based upon my close working relationship with Mr. Rehnquist, I believe he is exceptionally well qualified for the position to which he has been nominated. I might also add that I have been somewhat dismayed by charges made during the past that he is a "racist." That is a term used rather loosely these days, but I surely hope that we have not reached the point where all political conservatives must bear the racist label. Mr. Rehnquist is of course on the conservative side of the political spectrum. But I neither saw nor heard anything during my two years with the Department which would in any way suggest that Mr. Rehnquist had any tendency toward racism. Charges to the contrary seem wholly unwarranted. In my judgment, William Rehnquist will contribute much to the work of the Court and to this country's legal institutions, and I therefore strongly support his nomination. Very truly yours, THOMAS E. KAUPER, Hon. JAMES O. EASTLAND, Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, Washington, D.C. YALE UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL, DEAR SENATOR EASTLAND: I am writing in support of the President's nomination of Mr. William Rehnquist for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. My support is based not merely upon Mr. Rehnquist's professional reputation, which is extremely high, but upon my opportunities to talk with him and to observe him in debate concerning legal matters. There can be no doubt whatever concerning his intellectual qualifications. He possesses a brilliant and analytical mind. More than that, however, Mr. Rehnquist is a deeply thoughtful man with respect for the requirements of intellectual honesty. I am sure, therefore, that in the decision of constitutional cases he will be guided not by his personal philosophy but by a commitment to the commands of the Constitution, interpreted in the light of its text and its history. This does not mean that he will be a wooden literalist but rather that he will attempt to discern the meaning of the Constitution in new circumstances by the document's fundamental principles instead of in Court and to this country's legal institutions, and I therefore strongly support accordance with whatever legislative views he might entertain if he were in the Congress rather than upon the Court. This is a difficult task, requiring the utmost in self-discipline and thoughtfulness. I believe that Mr. Rehnquist has those qualities in abundance. I have seen Mr. Rehnquist engage in debate on highly controversial subjects. Though some persons on both sides of the issue became quite heated, he did not. He remained calm but forceful in the presentation of his views, marshalling his arguments with great skill. That performance was indicative not merely of great professional qualifications, but also of a judicial temperament. In sum, I support Mr. Rehnquist's nomination warmly and with enthusiasm. Yours truly, ROBERT H. BORK, Professor of Law. YALE LAW SCHOOL, Hon. JAMES O. EASTLAND, New Haven, Conn., November 2, 1971. Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. Senate, DEAR SENATOR EASTLAND: I am writing to support the nomination of Mr. William H. Rehnquist as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. By way of reputation, I know Mr. Rehnquist to be a distinguished lawyer blessed with a brilliant mind. I have also been fortunate enough to have had personal contact with him. He is a reflective, thoughtful individual with a temperament ideally suited to a judicial position. He is intellectually honest and has a highly developed sense of legal craftmanship. Mr. Rehnquist is experienced in matters of constitutional law. He will bring to the Court knowledge and a sense of history as well as intellectual power. He understands, and accepts, the fundamental principles of government established by the Constitution and appreciates the difficult role a court must play as a constitutional arbiter in a democratic society. It is my anticipation that Mr. Rehnquist, if he is confirmed, will serve with distinction and that history will judge him to be one of our greatest Justices. Sincerely yours, Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. Senate, DEAR SENATOR EASTLAND: I should like to express my warm support for the confirmation of William H. Rehnquist as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. Rehnquist was a student of mine at Stanford Law School. He was not only the top student in his class but one of the best students in the School over a number of years. He has remained in my mind as one of the most impressive students I have had in some twenty-two years of teaching. I am confident that he is a fair-minded and objective man. Any suggestions of racism or prejudice are completely inconsistent with my recollections of him. Although I have had little contact with him in the intervening years, I have confirmed my impressions about both his intellectual quality and his objectivity with members of the Arizona bar whose judgment I respect. I believe he would be an independent judge and that he would bring to the Court an unusual capacity for understanding and responding to all dimensions of the difficult problems the Supreme Court must confront. In my judgment his appointment would add great strength to the Court. Sincerely, PHIL C. NEAL, Dean. ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY, COLLEGE OF LAW, Tempe, Ariz., November 11, 1971. Hon. JAMES OLIVER EASTLAND, Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. Senate, DEAR SENATOR EASTLAND: I write to support the nomination of William H. Rehnquist to the Supreme Court of the United States. Neither his political party nor his political philosophy is mine. Nonetheless, he is a lawyer of such skill, intelligence and integrity that I was moved to approach him a year ago about the possibility of an academic career with the faculty of the College of Law of Arizona State University. He felt his commitment at the Department of Justice would not then permit him to consider such an appointment. The qualities that would, in my judgment, have made him an excellent law professor should make him an excellent Justice of the United States Supreme Court. On that Court, charged with responsibility to serve the interests of all of the people in interpreting the Constitution of the United States and the laws of Congress, I am confident he will serve his country with great distinction. Sincerely, The CHAIRMAN. Senator Fannin. WILLARD H. PEDRICK, Dean. STATEMENT OF HON. PAUL J. FANNIN, A SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF ARIZONA Senator FANNIN. Thank you. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I am delighted to join with my colleagues, Senator Goldwater and Congressman Rhodes, in presenting to you Mr. William H. Rehnquist who has been nominated to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. 69-267-71-2 Mr. Rehnquist was born in Milwaukee in 1924. He received his undergraduate degree "with great distinction" in 1948 from Stanford University where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. In 1950 he received a masters degree from Harvard University. In 1952 he was graduated first in his class from Stanford Law School where he was elected to the Order of the Coif and served on the board of editors of the Stanford Law Review. From law school he came to Washington where he first clerked for Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson. In 1953 Mr. Rehnquist moved to Arizona and entered private law practice in Phoenix. He has been a partner in Phoenix law firms from 1955 until 1969 when he was nominated to be the assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel. Mr. Rehnquist's nomination was favorably reported by this committee on January 30, 1969; the next day he was confirmed by the Senate. As you know, the Office of Legal Counsel-often called the President's law firm-operates as the primary constitutional authority for the executive branch. In effect, Mr. Rehnquist is, as President Nixon described him, the President's lawyer's lawyer. But let me not monopolize this forum with my own praise of Mr. Rehnquist's qualifications; permit me to note what Mr. Rehnquist's fellow Arizonans think about his nomination to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court. Arizona Governor Jack Williams described Mr. Rehnquist as a "real scholar * * * an outstanding attorney." Vice Chief Justice Jack D. H. Hays of the Arizona Supreme Court noted that Mr. Rehnquist is "a very outstanding young man *** a tremendous legal scholar." Former Arizona Supreme Court Judge Charles Bernstein stated: "I couldn't think of a better choice. *** He has an extremely well-balanced philosophy. *** A sense of feeling for human beings, especially for the little man." * Gary Nelson, attorney general of Arizona, noted: "I was ecstatic at the announcement of his nomination ** I think he's outstanding." State Senator Sandra D. O'Connor, a law school classmate, stated: "When Bill has expressed concern about any law or ordinance in the area of civil rights, it has been to express a concern for the preservation of individual liberties of which he is a stanch defender in the tradition of the late Justice Black." Declaring that "he has the potential to become one of the greatest jurists of our highest court,' she noted that as a law student, "he quickly rose to the top of the class and, frankly, was head and shoulders above all the rest of us in terms of sheer legal talent and ability." Arizona State Republican Chairman Harry Rosenzweig remarked: "The President *** has made a very fine selection. He is not only a lawyer but a student of the law." Herbert L. Ely, the State democratic chairman, also supports the confirmation of William Rehnquist as do the Arizona Republic, the Phoenix Gazette, and the Tucson Daily Citizen newspapers. During his 16 years as a practicing attorney in Phoenix, Bill Rehnquist has earned the admiration of his fellow practitioners. In a unanimous endorsement by the Board of Governors of the State Bar of Arizona, Mr. Rehnquist was praised for having "continually demonstrated the very highest degree of professional competence, integrity, and devotion to the ends of justice." C. A. Carson III, a former law partner and a member of the ABA Board of Governors and House |