TODAY'S TWD: EARL WARREN

In 2003, Paul Newman lent his voice to two episodes of a documentary series, 'Freedom: A History Of Us', in which he spoke as President Woodrow Wilson and as Chief Justice Earl Warren.Today, here's a thumbnail biography of Warren.....

From oyez.org:

Thursday, March 19, 1891 - Tuesday, July 9, 1974
Earl Warren was an immensely popular Republican governor when President Dwight Eisenhower appointed him to the Supreme Court. Ike later regretted his choice; he had hoped toappoint a moderate conservative; Warren proved to be an unabashed liberal.

Warren joined the Court in the midst of one of its most important issues: racial segregation in public schools. The new Chief proved an effective leader (unlike his predecessor) by bringing the Brethren from division to unanimity on the issue of racial equality. At the end of his service, Warren concluded that his greatest contribution to government was his opinion in the reapportionment cases. However, his contribution to racial equality still stands as a testament to his role as a leader extraordinaire.

In November 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson called on a reluctant Warren to serve as a member of the special committee to investigate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. When first approached by the Attorney General Robert Kennedy (brother to the slain president), Warren declined. He was concerned that such service would tarnish the Court's legitimacy. But in [a] secretly recorded telephone call, Johnson explained to Sen. Richard Russell how he persuaded Warren to serve.

In a public address following his retirement for the Court, Warren articulated his strong commitment to the principle of equality and admonished Americans that they face continued strife and upheaval by failing to heed the rightful demands for equality.

From Wikipedia:

[H]is tenure as Chief Justice was as divisive as his governorship was unifying. Liberals generally hailed the landmark rulings issued by the Warren Court, rulings affecting, among other things, the legal status of racial segregation, civil rights, separation of church and state, and police arrest procedure in the United States. But conservatives decried the Court's rulings, particularly in areas affecting criminal proceedings.

In the years that followed, the Warren Court became recognized as a high point in the use of the judicial power in the effort to effect social progress in the U.S. and Warren himself became widely regarded as one of the most influential Supreme Court justices in the history of the United States and perhaps the single most important in the 20th century (and certainly its most controversial).

For more from Wikipedia.....

And the Warren College has a biography as well......

BCnU!
Toby O'B