Warren E. Burger

Warren E. Burger
Born	Warren Earl Burger 9/17/1907
Birthplace	Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Died	6/25/1995 Washington, D.C., U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Jurist, attorney
Known for	15th Chief Justice of the United States; United States v. Nixon; INS v. Chadha
Education	St. Paul College of Law (LL.B.)
Children	2
Awards	Presidential Medal of Freedom

Warren Earl Burger (September 17, 1907 – June 25, 1995) was an American jurist and attorney who served as the 15th Chief Justice of the United States from 1969 to 1986. Appointed by President Richard Nixon to succeed Earl Warren, Burger presided over one of the most consequential periods in the history of the Supreme Court, overseeing landmark decisions on executive privilege, abortion, the legislative veto, school desegregation, capital punishment, and sex discrimination. Born into a modest family in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Burger worked his way through night law school before entering politics and law, eventually rising through Republican circles to gain the attention of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who appointed him first as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division and then to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. While Burger did not emerge as a dominant intellectual force among his fellow justices, he made significant contributions to judicial administration and court reform, establishing institutions such as the National Center for State Courts and the Supreme Court Historical Society. His unanimous opinion in United States v. Nixon (1974), which rejected President Nixon's sweeping claim of executive privilege during the Watergate scandal, played a pivotal role in Nixon's subsequent resignation. After retiring from the bench in 1986, Burger served as Chairman of the Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution. He was succeeded as Chief Justice by William H. Rehnquist.

Early Life

Warren Earl Burger was born on September 17, 1907, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, to Charles Joseph Burger and Katharine Schnittger Burger. He was the fourth of seven children in a family of Swiss and German ancestry. The Burger family was of modest means; his father worked as a railroad cargo inspector and traveling salesman, and the family lived on a small farm on the outskirts of Saint Paul.

As a young man, Burger demonstrated considerable energy and ambition. He attended John A. Johnson High School in Saint Paul, where he was active in extracurricular activities, including student government, athletics, and the school newspaper. He served as president of the student council and lettered in multiple sports. Despite his academic abilities, the family's limited financial resources meant that attending a four-year university full-time was not an option for Burger following his graduation from high school in 1925.

Instead, Burger pursued higher education on a part-time basis while working to support himself. He took extension courses at the University of Minnesota for two years, attending classes in the evenings and working during the day as a life insurance salesman. This period of self-reliance and hard work shaped Burger's character and his later emphasis on practical competence and judicial efficiency. The experience of balancing work and education would remain a formative influence throughout his career, grounding his approach to the law in pragmatism rather than abstract legal theory.

Growing up in the upper Midwest during the early twentieth century, Burger was steeped in the values of civic responsibility and self-improvement common to the region's Protestant and immigrant communities. His later commitment to public service and judicial reform can be traced, in part, to the ethos of his upbringing in Saint Paul's working-class neighborhoods.

Education

After completing two years of extension courses at the University of Minnesota, Burger enrolled at the St. Paul College of Law (now Mitchell Hamline School of Law), attending classes in the evening while continuing to sell life insurance during the day. He earned his Bachelor of Laws degree magna cum laude in 1931, demonstrating the academic distinction that would propel him into a successful legal career.

The St. Paul College of Law was a night law school, and Burger's decision to pursue his legal education there reflected both the financial constraints of his family background and the practical orientation that characterized his approach throughout his career. The school's emphasis on training practitioners rather than legal scholars suited Burger's temperament. His strong academic record at the institution earned him recognition and opened the door to practice in the Minnesota legal community.

Career

Early Legal Career and Political Activity in Minnesota

Following his graduation from the St. Paul College of Law in 1931, Burger joined the Saint Paul law firm that would eventually become Faricy, Burger, Moore & Costello, where he practiced for more than two decades. He built a reputation as a capable trial and appellate lawyer, handling a range of civil and commercial cases. Alongside his private practice, Burger became active in Republican politics in Minnesota, a commitment that would prove decisive for his later career.

Burger's political involvement deepened in the late 1930s and 1940s. He became associated with the progressive wing of the Minnesota Republican Party and was an early supporter of Harold Stassen, a reform-minded governor of Minnesota who later sought the Republican presidential nomination on multiple occasions. Burger managed part of Stassen's 1948 presidential campaign and remained active in state and national Republican circles.

In 1952, Burger played a significant role at the Republican National Convention. He helped secure the Minnesota delegation's support for Dwight D. Eisenhower over Senator Robert A. Taft of Ohio, a move that proved critical to Eisenhower's nomination and subsequent victory in the 1952 presidential election. Burger's efforts on behalf of Eisenhower brought him to the attention of the incoming administration.

Burger also taught law as an adjunct faculty member at the St. Paul College of Law and later at the William Mitchell College of Law, further establishing his credentials within the legal profession.

Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division

In recognition of his support during the 1952 campaign, President Eisenhower appointed Burger as Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Civil Division of the United States Department of Justice in 1953. In this role, Burger oversaw a broad portfolio of government litigation and administrative matters. He served in this capacity from May 1, 1953, to April 14, 1956.

During his tenure as Assistant Attorney General, Burger gained experience in federal legal administration and developed relationships with key figures in the Eisenhower administration and the federal judiciary. His work in the Civil Division reinforced his interest in the efficient operation of the courts and the practical dimensions of legal administration, interests that would define his later career on the bench.

United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit

In 1956, President Eisenhower nominated Burger to serve as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, one of the most influential appellate courts in the country. He was confirmed and took his seat on March 29, 1956, succeeding Harold Montelle Stephens.

During his thirteen years on the D.C. Circuit, Burger developed a reputation as a conservative jurist, particularly in matters of criminal procedure. He became known as a vocal critic of the Warren Court's expansion of the rights of criminal defendants, arguing that the courts had gone too far in constraining law enforcement. His opinions and speeches on the subject attracted national attention and positioned him as a leading judicial conservative during a period of intense debate over the direction of American constitutional law.

Burger's dissents and concurrences on the D.C. Circuit frequently challenged what he viewed as overly permissive interpretations of defendants' rights, and his writings on the inefficiency and overburdening of the courts drew the interest of political leaders seeking to shift the ideological balance of the Supreme Court. His criticism of the Warren Court's criminal procedure rulings, in particular, caught the eye of Richard Nixon, who was elected president in 1968 on a platform that emphasized law and order.

Chief Justice of the United States

On May 21, 1969, President Nixon nominated Burger to succeed Earl Warren as Chief Justice of the United States. Burger's nomination reflected Nixon's desire to move the Supreme Court in a more conservative direction, particularly on issues of criminal justice. The Senate confirmed Burger with little opposition, and he was sworn in on June 23, 1969.

Major Opinions and Decisions

Burger's tenure as Chief Justice, spanning seventeen years, was marked by a number of landmark decisions that shaped American law and government.

United States v. Nixon (1974): Perhaps the most consequential opinion of Burger's career, United States v. Nixon arose from the Watergate scandal. In this case, the Supreme Court was asked whether President Nixon could invoke executive privilege to withhold tape recordings of White House conversations that had been subpoenaed by the Watergate special prosecutor. Writing for a unanimous Court, Burger held that while the Constitution provides for a presumptive privilege for presidential communications, this privilege is not absolute and must yield to the demonstrated, specific need for evidence in a pending criminal trial. The decision effectively compelled Nixon to release the tapes, which contained evidence of his involvement in the cover-up of the Watergate break-in. Nixon resigned the presidency on August 9, 1974, shortly after the ruling. The opinion established an important precedent regarding the limits of executive power and the rule of law.

Roe v. Wade (1973): Burger joined the majority in Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision authored by Justice Harry Blackmun that held the right to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment extended to a woman's decision to have an abortion. Burger wrote a brief concurrence emphasizing the narrowness of the decision. Later analyses have suggested that Burger's decision to join the majority may have been motivated, at least in part, by a desire to retain the power to assign the opinion rather than allowing Justice William O. Douglas, the most senior justice in the majority, to make that assignment. Burger's subsequent votes in abortion-related cases appeared to distance him from the Roe framework. In Harris v. McRae (1980), he voted with the majority to uphold the Hyde Amendment's restrictions on federal funding for abortions, and in Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (1986), he voted with the dissent, calling for Roe to be reexamined.

INS v. Chadha (1983): In one of the most significant separation-of-powers decisions of the twentieth century, Burger wrote the majority opinion striking down the one-house legislative veto, a mechanism by which one chamber of Congress could unilaterally overturn decisions made by the executive branch. The ruling invalidated provisions in more than 200 federal statutes and reaffirmed the constitutional requirements of bicameralism and presentment.

Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education (1971): Early in Burger's tenure, the Court unanimously upheld the use of busing as a remedy for school desegregation, a decision that affirmed the judiciary's role in enforcing the mandate of Brown v. Board of Education.

Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971): Burger authored the majority opinion establishing the "Lemon test," a three-part framework for evaluating whether government action violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Under this test, a law must have a secular legislative purpose, its principal effect must neither advance nor inhibit religion, and it must not foster excessive government entanglement with religion. The Lemon test remained influential in Establishment Clause jurisprudence for decades.

The Burger Court's Ideological Character

Although Burger was nominated by a conservative president and was himself considered a judicial conservative, the Court over which he presided did not consistently move in a rightward direction. The Burger Court issued a number of decisions that expanded individual rights and imposed limits on government power in areas such as abortion, capital punishment, sex discrimination, religious establishment, and school desegregation. Scholars have attributed this in part to the composition of the Court, which included several justices appointed by previous administrations, and in part to Burger's limited ability to forge consensus among his colleagues.

Critics of Burger's leadership of the Court noted that he lacked the analytical rigor and persuasive power of some of his predecessors and contemporaries. Some legal scholars and fellow justices found his opinions to be workmanlike rather than intellectually commanding. Burger's relationship with several of his colleagues, including Justice William J. Brennan Jr. and Justice Thurgood Marshall, was at times strained, and he was not always successful in maintaining control of the Court's direction.

Judicial Administration and Reform

Where Burger left a more distinctive mark was in the area of judicial administration. He was a persistent advocate for improving the efficiency and professionalism of the American court system. He championed the creation of the National Center for State Courts, an organization dedicated to improving the administration of justice at the state level. He also played a central role in founding the Supreme Court Historical Society, which promotes public awareness and scholarly understanding of the Court's history.

Burger pushed for reforms in court management, including the use of modern administrative techniques and technology to reduce delays and improve access to justice. He frequently spoke and wrote about the need for better training of judges and lawyers and for the reform of legal education to include greater emphasis on practical skills and professional responsibility. His efforts in this area were recognized as a significant contribution to the American legal system, even by those who were critical of his jurisprudence.

Retirement and Later Career

On June 17, 1986, President Ronald Reagan announced Burger's resignation as Chief Justice. Reagan simultaneously nominated William H. Rehnquist, then an associate justice, to succeed Burger as Chief Justice and nominated Antonin Scalia to fill Rehnquist's seat as associate justice.

Burger retired from the Court to serve as Chairman of the Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution, overseeing national celebrations and educational programs commemorating the two-hundredth anniversary of the Constitution's drafting in 1787. He was deeply committed to this role and devoted considerable energy to promoting public understanding of the Constitution and the founding of the American republic.

From 1986 to 1993, Burger also served as the 20th Chancellor of the College of William & Mary, a ceremonial position traditionally held by distinguished public figures. He was succeeded in this role by Margaret Thatcher.

Personal Life

Warren Burger married Elvera Stromberg in 1933. The couple had two children. Burger was known for his imposing physical presence, standing over six feet tall, and for his distinctive silver hair and dignified bearing, which lent him a commanding courtroom presence. He was known to be a skilled woodworker and craftsman, and he maintained a personal workshop where he pursued this hobby throughout his life.

Burger was a private man who kept his personal life largely out of the public eye. He was a member of the Republican Party, though as Chief Justice he refrained from overt political activity in accordance with judicial norms. In later years, Burger drew attention for his views on the Second Amendment. In a widely cited 1991 interview, he described the idea that the Second Amendment guaranteed an individual right to bear arms as "one of the greatest pieces of fraud" perpetrated on the American public, arguing that the amendment was intended to protect the right of states to maintain militias.

Warren E. Burger died on June 25, 1995, in Washington, D.C., at the age of 87. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Recognition

Burger received numerous honors and awards over the course of his career. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and received honorary degrees from multiple universities. The Warren E. Burger Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Saint Paul, Minnesota, was named in his honor, reflecting his deep ties to his hometown and his contributions to the federal judiciary.

The American Inns of Court established the Warren E. Burger Prize, an award recognizing outstanding legal scholarship and writing. The prize has been awarded to law students and legal professionals across the country, preserving Burger's legacy of commitment to legal excellence and professionalism.

The Warren E. Burger Society, affiliated with the American Inns of Court, honors individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to the values of civility, ethics, and professionalism in the legal profession. Induction into the society is considered a mark of distinction in the American bar.

The Supreme Court Historical Society, which Burger helped to establish, continues to operate as a leading organization for the study and promotion of the Court's history, and its founding is closely associated with Burger's legacy of institutional stewardship.

Legacy

Warren E. Burger's legacy is complex and reflects the tensions inherent in his career. Appointed by a conservative president with the expectation that he would steer the Court to the right, Burger presided over a Court that, in practice, produced a mixed body of jurisprudence, including some of the most significant expansions of individual rights in American legal history. His unanimous opinion in United States v. Nixon is regarded as a defining moment in the assertion of judicial authority over the executive branch and the principle that no person, including the president, is above the law.

Burger's contributions to judicial administration and his efforts to improve the functioning of the courts are considered by many legal historians to be among his most lasting achievements. The institutions he helped create, including the National Center for State Courts and the Supreme Court Historical Society, continue to play important roles in the American legal system. His advocacy for court reform and professional education influenced the direction of legal training and judicial management for decades.

At the same time, Burger's tenure was marked by criticism from both sides of the political spectrum. Conservatives were disappointed by the Court's liberal rulings on abortion, busing, and the death penalty, while liberals questioned Burger's intellectual depth and his capacity to lead a Court composed of strong-willed and independent justices. Some scholars have characterized Burger as an effective administrator but a less-than-commanding legal thinker, noting that his opinions often lacked the analytical power and rhetorical distinction of justices such as William J. Brennan Jr., Lewis F. Powell Jr., or John Paul Stevens.

Burger's emphasis on the practical dimensions of the law—court management, professional ethics, legal education—set him apart from chief justices whose legacies rest primarily on doctrinal innovation. His seventeen-year tenure made him one of the longest-serving chief justices in the Court's history, and the decisions of the Burger Court continue to shape American constitutional law.