View source for Warren E. Burger

{{Short description|Chief Justice of the United States from 1969 to 1986}}
{{about|the Supreme Court justice|the journalist|Warren Berger}}
{{use mdy dates|date=October 2016}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Warren E. Burger
| image               = Warren E Burger official photograph as chief justice.jpg
| office              = 15th [[Chief Justice of the United States]]
| term_start          = June 23, 1969
| term_end            = September 26, 1986
| nominator           = [[Richard Nixon]]
| predecessor         = [[Earl Warren]]
| successor           = [[William Rehnquist]]
| office2             = Judge of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit]]
| term_start2         = March 29, 1956
| term_end2           = June 23, 1969
| nominator2          = [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]]
| predecessor2        = [[Harold Montelle Stephens]]
| successor2          = [[Malcolm Richard Wilkey]]
| office3             = 11th [[United States Department of Justice Civil Division|United States Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division]]
| term_start3         = May 1, 1953
| term_end3           = April 14, 1956
| president3          = [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]]
| predecessor3        = [[Holmes Baldridge]]
| successor3          = [[George Cochran Doub]]
| office1             = 20th [[Chancellor of the College of William & Mary]]
| term_start1         = June 26, 1986
| term_end1           = July 1, 1993
| president1          = {{ubl| [[Paul R. Verkuil]] | [[Timothy J. Sullivan]] }}
| predecessor1        = [[Alvin Duke Chandler]] (1974)
| successor1          = [[Margaret Thatcher]]
| birth_name          = Warren Earl Burger
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1907|9|17}}
| birth_place         = [[Saint Paul, Minnesota]], U.S.
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1995|6|25|1907|9|17}}
| death_place         = [[Washington, D.C.]], U.S.
| party               = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| spouse              = {{marriage|Elvera Stromberg|1933|1994|end=died}}
| children            = 2
| education           = {{nowrap|[[St. Paul College of Law]] ([[Bachelor of Laws|LLB]])}}, [[University of Minnesota]]
| signature           = Warren E Burger Signatrue.svg
| caption             = Official portrait, 1986
| resting_place       = [[Arlington National Cemetery]]
| module              = {{Listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=Warren E. Burger delivers the opinion of the Court in Houchins v. KQED Inc.ogg|title=Warren E. Burger's voice|type=speech|description=Warren E. Burger delivers the opinion of the Court in ''[[Houchins v. KQED, Inc.]]''<br />Recorded June 26, 1978}}
}}
{{Conservatism US|jurists}}
'''Warren Earl Burger''' (September 17, 1907 – June 25, 1995) was an American attorney who served as the 15th [[chief justice of the United States]] from 1969 to 1986.

Born in [[Saint Paul, Minnesota]], Burger graduated from the [[William Mitchell College of Law|St. Paul College of Law]] in 1931. He helped secure the Minnesota delegation's support for [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] at the [[1952 Republican National Convention]]. After Eisenhower won the [[1952 United States presidential election|1952 presidential election]], he appointed Burger to the position of [[United States Assistant Attorney General|Assistant Attorney General]] in charge of the [[United States Department of Justice Civil Division|Civil Division]]. In 1956, Eisenhower appointed Burger to the [[United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit]]. Burger served on this court until 1969 and became known as a critic of the [[Warren Court]].

In 1969, President [[Richard Nixon]] nominated Burger to succeed [[Earl Warren]] as Chief Justice, and Burger won [[United States Senate|Senate]] confirmation with little opposition. He did not emerge as a strong intellectual force on the Court, but sought to improve the administration of the [[Federal judiciary of the United States|federal judiciary]]. He also helped establish the [[National Center for State Courts]] and the [[Supreme Court Historical Society]]. Burger remained on the Court until his retirement in 1986, when he became Chairman of the Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution. He was succeeded as Chief Justice by [[William H. Rehnquist]], who had served as an associate justice since 1972.

In 1974, Burger wrote for a unanimous court in ''[[United States v. Nixon]]'', which rejected Nixon's invocation of [[executive privilege]] in the wake of the [[Watergate scandal]]. The ruling played a major role in Nixon's resignation. Burger joined the majority in ''[[Roe v. Wade]]'' in holding that the [[right to privacy]] prohibited states from banning abortions. Later analyses have suggested that Burger joined the majority in ''Roe'' solely to prevent Justice [[William O. Douglas]] from controlling assignment of the opinion.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Woodward |first1=Bob |last2=Armstrong |first2=Scott |title=The Brethren: Inside the Supreme Court |date=May 31, 2011 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1439126349 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ofbhHLhOhH8C |access-date=11 September 2022}}</ref> On the contrary, Burger would vote with the majority in ''[[Harris v. McRae]]'' in 1980, which formally launched the [[Hyde Amendment]] into effect. He later abandoned ''Roe v. Wade'' in ''[[Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists]]''. His majority opinion in ''[[INS v. Chadha]]'' struck down the one-house [[Legislative veto in the United States|legislative veto]].

Although Burger was nominated by a conservative president,<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/polisci/jsegal/QualTable.pdf| title=Perceived Qualifications and Ideology of Supreme Court Nominees, 1937–2012| publisher=[[Stony Brook University|SUNY at Stony Brook]]| access-date=April 4, 2012| archive-date=February 15, 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215100705/http://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/polisci/jsegal/QualTable.pdf| url-status=dead}}</ref> the [[Burger Court]] also delivered some of the most liberal decisions regarding [[Abortion in the United States|abortion]], [[capital punishment in the United States|capital punishment]], [[Establishment clause|religious establishment]], [[sex discrimination]], and school [[desegregation]]<ref>{{Cite journal|author-link1=Lucius Barker|last=Barker|first=Lucius J.|date=Autumn 1973|title=Black Americans and the Burger Court: Implications for the Political System|url=https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_lawreview/vol1973/iss4/|journal=Washington University Law Review|volume=1973|issue=4|pages=747–777|via=Washington University Law Review Archive|access-date=December 28, 2017|archive-date=January 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190121064851/https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_lawreview/vol1973/iss4/|url-status=live}}</ref> during his tenure.<ref>Earl M. Maltz, ''The Coming of the Nixon Court: The 1972 Term and the Transformation of Constitutional Law'' (University Press of Kansas; 2016)</ref>

==Early life==

Burger was born in [[Saint Paul, Minnesota]], in 1907, as one of seven children. His parents, Katharine (née Schnittger) and Charles Joseph Burger, a traveling salesman and railroad cargo inspector,{{citation needed|date=August 2021}} were of [[Austrian German]] descent. He was raised Presbyterian.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3oQuEAAAQBAJ&dq=warren+burger+%22presbyterian%22&pg=PT25|title=A Model Conservative|isbn=9781641142687|last1=Vinson|first1=Henry|date=December 4, 2017|publisher=Christian Faith Publishing }}</ref> His grandfather, [[Joseph Burger (Medal of Honor)|Joseph Burger]], was born in Bludenz, Vorarlberg, had emigrated from Tyrol, [[Austria]] and joined the [[Union Army]] when he was 13. Joseph Burger fought and was wounded in the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], resulting in the loss of his right arm and was awarded the [[Medal of Honor]] at the age of 14. At age 16, Joseph Burger became one of the youngest [[Captain (United States O-3)|captain]]s in the Union Army and would go on to become a member of the Minnesota state legislature.<ref name=Youngest>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41605448/youngest_civil_war_captain_dead_at_73/ |title=Youngest Civil War Captain Dead at 73 |work=[[The Pantagraph]] |location=St. Paul |page=1 |date=1921-01-03 |access-date=2020-01-03 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

Burger grew up on the family farm near the edge of Saint Paul. At age 8, he stayed home from school for a year after contracting [[polio]].<ref name="Civil">{{cite web |url=http://uscivilliberties.org/biography/3264-warren-e-burger-1907-1995.html |title=Warren E. Burger (1907–1995) |date=December 1, 2012 |website=Uscivilliberties.org |publisher=Civil Liberties in the United States |access-date=July 19, 2019 |archive-date=November 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108052425/http://uscivilliberties.org/biography/3264-warren-e-burger-1907-1995.html |url-status=live }}</ref>  Burger attended the same grade school as future Associate Justice [[Harry Blackmun]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.twincities.com/2004/03/05/as-friends-and-rivals-blackmun-and-burger-swayed-the-court/ | title=As friends and rivals, Blackmun and Burger swayed the court | date=March 5, 2004 }}</ref> He attended [[Johnson Senior High School (St. Paul, Minnesota)|John A. Johnson High School]], where he was president of the student council.<ref name="Civil" /> He competed in hockey, football, track, and swimming.<ref name="Civil" />  While in high school, he wrote articles on high school sports for local newspapers.<ref name="Civil" />  He graduated in 1925, and received a partial scholarship to attend [[Princeton University]], which he declined because his family's finances were not sufficient to cover the remainder of his expenses.<ref name="Civil" />

That same year, Burger also worked with the crew building the [[Robert Street Bridge]], a crossing of the [[Mississippi River]] in Saint Paul that still exists. Concerned about the number of deaths on the project, he asked that a net be installed to catch anyone who fell, but was rebuffed by managers. In later years, Burger made a point of visiting the bridge whenever he came back to town.

==Education and early career==

Burger enrolled in extension classes at the [[University of Minnesota]] for two years while selling insurance for Mutual Life Insurance.<ref name="Civil" /> Afterward, he enrolled at St. Paul College of Law (which later became William Mitchell College of Law, now [[Mitchell Hamline School of Law]]), receiving his [[Bachelor of Laws]], ''magna cum laude'', in 1931.<ref name="Civil" /> He took a job at a St. Paul law firm.<ref name="Civil" /> In 1937, Burger served as the eighth president of the Saint Paul [[Jaycees]].<ref name="Civil" /> He also taught for twenty-two years at William Mitchell.<ref name="Civil" />  A spinal condition prevented Burger from serving in the military during [[World War II]]; instead he supported the war effort at home, including service on Minnesota's emergency war labor board from 1942 to 1947.<ref name="Civil" /> From 1948 to 1953, he served on the governor of Minnesota's interracial commission, which worked on issues related to racial desegregation.<ref name="Civil" />  He also served as president of St. Paul's Council on Human Relations, which considered ways to improve the relationship between the city's police department and its minority residents.<ref name="Civil" />

Burger's political career began uneventfully, but he soon rose to national prominence. He supported [[Minnesota]] Governor [[Harold Stassen]]'s unsuccessful pursuit of the Republican nomination for president in 1948.<ref>[[Osro Cobb]], ''Osro Cobb of Arkansas: Memoirs of Historical Significance'', Carol Griffee, ed. ([[Little Rock, Arkansas]]: Rose Publishing Company, 1989), p. 99</ref> At the [[1952 Republican National Convention]], Burger played a key role in Dwight D. Eisenhower's nomination by leading the Minnesota delegates to change their votes from Stassen to Eisenhower after Stassen failed to obtain 10 percent of the vote, which freed the Minnesota delegation from their pledge to support him.

==Assistant Attorney General==

President Eisenhower appointed Burger as the [[United States Assistant Attorney General|Assistant Attorney General]] in charge of the Civil Division of the [[United States Department of Justice|Justice Department]].

In this role, he first argued in front of the Supreme Court. The case involved [[John P. Peters]], a [[Yale University]] professor who worked as a consultant to the government. He had been discharged from his position on loyalty grounds. Supreme Court cases are usually argued by the [[United States Solicitor General|Solicitor General]], but he disagreed with the government's position and refused to argue the case. Burger lost the case. Shortly after, in ''Dalehite v. United States'', 346 U.S. 15 (1953), Burger defended the United States against claims from the [[Texas City Disaster|Texas City ship explosion disaster]], successfully arguing that the [[Federal Tort Claims Act]] of 1947 did not allow a suit for negligence in policy making.

==Court of Appeals service==

Burger was nominated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on January 12, 1956, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated by Judge [[Harold M. Stephens]]. He was confirmed by the [[United States Senate]] on March 28, 1956, and received his commission on March 29, 1956. His service terminated on June 23, 1969, due to his elevation to the [[Supreme Court of the United States|United States Supreme Court]].

==Chief Justice==
{{Further|Burger Court}}

===Nomination and confirmation===
[[File:President Richard Nixon and Judge Warren Burger.jpg|thumb|President [[Richard Nixon]] introduces Burger as his nominee for the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court]]

In June 1968, [[Chief Justice of the United States|Chief Justice]] [[Earl Warren]] announced his retirement, effective on the confirmation of his successor. President [[Lyndon Johnson]] nominated sitting [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court|associate justice]] [[Abe Fortas]] to the position, but a Senate [[filibuster]] blocked his confirmation, and Johnson withdrew the nomination. Richard Nixon was elected president in [[1968 United States presidential election|November 1968]] and Johnson did not make another nomination before his term as president ended on January 20, 1969.<ref name=NEH2009>{{cite magazine| last=Hindley| first=Meredith| title=Supremely Contentious: The Transformation of "Advice and Consent"| magazine=Humanities| publisher=National Endowment for the Humanities| date=October 2009| volume=30| issue=5| url=https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2009/septemberoctober/feature/supremely-contentious| access-date=February 22, 2022}}</ref>

Burger was nominated by President Nixon to succeed Earl Warren on May 23, 1969.<ref name=SCnominations>{{cite web| title=Supreme Court Nominations (1789-Present)| url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/nominations/SupremeCourtNominations1789present.htm| publisher=United States Senate| location=Washington, D.C.| access-date=February 22, 2022}}</ref> The [[United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary]] hearing on Burger's nomination took place on June 3, 1969.<ref name="CRS2018BJMDSR">{{cite web| last1=McMillion| first1=Barry J.| last2=Rutkus| first2=Denis Steven| date=July 6, 2018| title=Supreme Court Nominations, 1789 to 2017: Actions by the Senate, the Judiciary Committee, and the President| url=https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/RL33225.pdf| publisher=Congressional Research Service| location=Washington, D.C.| access-date=March 9, 2022}}</ref> It was characterized as having been friendly, and saw Burger as the sole individual to deliver testimony.<ref name="NYTgraham1"/> The hearing was reported as having taken only an hour and forty minutes.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Biskupic |first1=Joan |author-link=Joan Biskupic|title=Ex-chief Justice Warren Burger Dead at Age 87 |url-access=subscription |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1995/06/26/ex-chief-justice-warren-burger-dead-at-age-87/29db0ea1-e59b-4648-b494-b846baabaa22/ |newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=12 March 2022 |date=26 June 1995}}</ref> Afterwards, the committee held a five-minute private session in which they voted unanimously to report favorably on his nomination.<ref name="CRS2018BJMDSR"/><ref name="NYTgraham1">{{cite web |last1=Graham |first1=Fred P. |title=Burger Approved by Senate Panel; A Unanimous Vote Follows Friendly Questioning -- Protester Is Barred |url-access=subscription |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/06/04/archives/burger-approved-by-senate-panel-a-unanimous-vote-follows-friendly.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=12 March 2022 |date=4 June 1969}}</ref> The Senate confirmed Burger to the court by a 74–3 vote on June 9, 1969,<ref name=SCnominations/><ref name="CRS2018BJMDSR"/><ref>{{cite journal|title=Senate|date=June 9, 1969|journal=[[Congressional Record]]|volume=115|issue=11|publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|U.S. Government Printing Office]]|pages=15195–15196|edition=Bound|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1969-pt11/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1969-pt11-8-2.pdf|access-date=February 12, 2022}}</ref> and he took the [[Oath of office#Federal judiciary oaths|judicial oath of office]] on June 23, 1969.<ref name=SCOTUSjustices>{{cite web| url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/members_text.aspx| title= Justices 1789 to Present| publisher=Supreme Court of the United States| location=Washington, D.C.| access-date=February 22, 2022}}</ref>

Remaking the Supreme Court had been a theme in Nixon's presidential campaign,<ref name=NEH2009/> and he had pledged to appoint a [[strict constructionist]] as Chief Justice. Burger had first caught Nixon's eye through a letter of support he sent to Nixon during the 1952 [[Checkers Speech#Fund crisis|Fund crisis]],<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/09/the-checkers-speech-after-60-years/262172/?single_page=true |title=The Checkers Speech After 60 Years |newspaper=[[The Atlantic]] |date=September 22, 2012 |access-date=September 23, 2012 |archive-date=September 27, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927141224/http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/09/the-checkers-speech-after-60-years/262172/?single_page=true |url-status=live }}</ref> and then again 15 years later when the magazine ''[[U.S. News & World Report]]'' reprinted a 1967 speech that Burger had given at [[Ripon College (Wisconsin)|Ripon College]].<ref>{{cite web| title=The Fiftieth Anniversary of Warren Burger's Appointment as Chief Justice| date=June 18, 2019| last=Morris| first=Jeffrey B.| publisher=[[Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum|Richard Nixon foundation]]| location=Yorba Linda, California| url=https://www.nixonfoundation.org/2019/06/fiftieth-anniversary-warren-burgers-appointment-chief-justice/|access-date=February 22, 2022}}</ref> In it, Burger compared the United States judicial system to those of [[Norway]], Sweden, and [[Denmark]]:

{{blockquote|I assume that no one will take issue with me when I say that these North European countries are as enlightened as the United States in the value they place on the individual and on human dignity. [Those countries] do not consider it necessary to use a device like our [[Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fifth Amendment]], under which an accused person may not be required to testify. They go swiftly, efficiently and directly to the question of whether the accused is guilty. No nation on earth goes to such lengths or takes such pains to provide safeguards as we do, once an accused person is called before the bar of justice and until his case is completed.}}

Through speeches like this, Burger became known as a critic of Chief Justice Warren and an advocate of a literal, [[Strict constructionism|strict-constructionist]] reading of the [[U.S. Constitution]]. Nixon's agreement with these views, being expressed by a readily confirmable, sitting federal appellate judge, led to the nomination.

According to President Nixon's memoirs, he had asked Burger in the spring of 1970 to be prepared to run for president in 1972 if the political repercussions of the [[Cambodian Campaign|Cambodia invasion]] were too negative for him to endure. A few years later, Burger was on Nixon's short list of vice presidential candidates following the resignation of [[Spiro Agnew]] in October 1973, before [[Gerald Ford]] was [[1973 United States vice presidential confirmation|appointed to succeed]] him.

===Jurisprudence===
[[File:Warren Burger Official.jpg|thumb|left|upright=.90|Official portrait of Warren Burger]]

The Court issued a unanimous ruling, ''[[Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education]]'' (1971), supporting [[desegregation busing|busing]] to reduce ''de facto'' [[racial segregation]] in schools. However, Burger wrote the majority opinion for ''[[Milliken v. Bradley]]'' (1974), which upheld ''de facto'' school segregation across school district lines if segregationist policy was not explicitly stated by all of the districts involved. In ''[[United States v. U.S. District Court]]'' (1972), the Burger Court issued another unanimous ruling against the [[Nixon administration]]'s desire to invalidate the need for a search warrant and the requirements of the [[Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fourth Amendment]] in cases of domestic surveillance. Then, only two weeks later in ''[[Furman v. Georgia]]'' (1972), the Court, in a 5–4 decision, invalidated all [[capital punishment in the United States|death penalty laws]] then in force although Burger dissented from that decision. In the most controversial ruling of his term, ''[[Roe v. Wade]]'' (1973), Burger voted with the majority to recognize a broad right to [[privacy]] that prohibited states from banning [[abortions]]. However, Burger later abandoned ''Roe'' in ''[[Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists]]'' (1986).

On July 24, 1974, Burger led the Court in a unanimous decision in ''[[United States v. Nixon]]'', arising from Nixon's attempt to keep several memos and tapes relating to the [[Watergate scandal]] private. As documented in Woodward and Armstrong's ''[[The Brethren (Bob Woodward book)|The Brethren]]'' and elsewhere, Burger's original feelings on the case were that Watergate was merely a political battle, and Burger "didn't see what they did wrong".<ref>{{harvnb|Eisler|1993|p=251}}.</ref> The actual final opinion was largely Brennan's work, but each justice wrote at least a rough draft of a particular section.<ref>{{harvnb|Eisler|1993|pp=251–253}}.</ref> Burger was originally to vote in favor of Nixon but tactically changed his vote to assign the opinion to himself and to restrain the opinion's rhetoric.<ref>{{harvnb|Eisler|1993|p=252}}.</ref> Burger's first draft of the opinion wrote that executive privilege could be invoked when it dealt with a "core function" of the presidency and that in some cases, the executive could be supreme.<ref>{{harvnb|Eisler|1993|p=254}}.</ref> However, the other justices were able to convince Burger to excise that language from the opinion: the judicial branch alone would have the power to determine whether something can be shielded under an assertion of executive privilege.<ref>{{harvnb|Eisler|1993|pp=254–255}}</ref>

Burger joined the majority decision in ''[[Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley]]'', which was the first special education law case decided by the Supreme Court. The Court upheld the constitutionality of Individual Education Plans, but also held that the school district did not have to provide every service necessary in order to maximize a child's potential.

Burger also emphasized the maintenance of [[checks and balances]] among the branches of government. In ''[[INS v. Chadha|Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Chadha]]'' (1983), he held for the majority that Congress could not reserve a legislative veto over executive branch actions.

On issues involving criminal law and procedure, Burger remained reliably conservative. He dissented in ''[[Solem v. Helm]]'', which held that a life sentence for a phony check was unconstitutional. He once stated personal opposition to the death penalty in his ''[[Furman v. Georgia]]'' dissent,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/408/238/|title=Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972)|website=Justia Law|access-date=October 30, 2021|archive-date=October 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030165631/https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/408/238/|url-status=live}}</ref> but defended it as constitutional.

===Leadership===
[[File:Ford sworn-in.jpg|thumb|With [[Betty Ford]] between them, Chief Justice Burger swears in President [[Gerald Ford]] following the resignation of Richard Nixon on August 9, 1974]]

Rather than dominating the Court, Burger sought to improve administration both within the Court and within the nation's legal system. Criticizing some advocates as unprepared, Burger created training venues for state and local government advocates.<ref>Warren E. Burger, Conference on Supreme Court Advocacy, 33 Catholic U. L.Rev. 525–526 (1984)</ref> He also helped found the [[National Center for State Courts]], which is now in [[Williamsburg, Virginia|Williamsburg]], Virginia, as well as the Institute for Court Management, and National Institute of Corrections to provide professional training for judges, clerks, and prison guards.<ref>Christensen, George A., ''Journal of Supreme Court History'' Volume 33 Issue 1, Pages 17–41 (February 19, 2008), ''Here Lies the Supreme Court: Revisited'', University of Alabama.</ref> Burger also began a tradition of annually delivering a ''State of the Judiciary'' speech to the [[American Bar Association]], many of whose members had been alienated by the Warren Court. However, some detractors thought his emphasis on the mechanics of the judicial system trivialized the office of chief justice.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}} Despite his reputation for being imperious, he was well-liked by the law clerks and judicial fellows who worked with him.<ref>{{citation |last=Bonventre |first=Vincent |author-link=Vincent Martin Bonventre |title=Professional Responsibility: Conclusion, 46 Syracuse L. Rev. 765, 793 (1995) |publisher=Syracuse_Law_Review|year=1995}}.</ref>

Burger drew internal controversy within the Supreme Court throughout his tenure, as was revealed in [[Bob Woodward|Woodward]] and [[Scott Armstrong (journalist)|Armstrong's]] ''[[The Brethren (non-fiction)|The Brethren]]''. Although Sen. [[Everett Dirksen]] noted Burger "looked, sounded, and acted like a chief justice," the reporters depicted Burger as an ineffective chief justice who was not seriously respected by his colleagues for his alleged pomposity and lack of legal acumen.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}} Woodward and Armstrong's sources indicated that some of the other justices were annoyed by Burger's practice of switching his vote in conference or simply not announcing his vote so that he could control opinion assignments. "Burger repeatedly irked his colleagues by changing his vote to remain in the majority, and by rewarding his friends with choice assignments and punishing his foes with dreary ones."<ref name="Time">{{cite magazine| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,961645-7,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111220112004/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,961645-7,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=December 20, 2011 | magazine=Time | title=Reagan's Mr. Right | date=June 30, 1986 | access-date=May 27, 2010}}</ref> Burger would also try to influence the course of events in a case by circulating a pre-emptive opinion.<ref>{{harvnb|Greenhouse|2005|p=157}}.</ref> Clerks mocked him for his perceived egotism and intense [[homophobia]], and Justice [[Lewis F. Powell Jr|Lewis Powell]] allegedly referred to him as "the great white doughnut", an attack on both his intellect and physical appearance.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Murdoch |first1=Joyce |last2=Price |first2=Deborah |title=Courting Justice |date=May 9, 2002 |publisher=Basic Books |isbn=9780465015146 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_btvswEACAAJ |access-date=6 January 2022}}</ref>

Consequently, the Burger Court was described as his "in name only".<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite magazine| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,961645-1,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211002733/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,961645-1,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=December 11, 2008 | magazine=Time | title=Reagan's Mr. Right | date=June 30, 1986 | access-date=May 27, 2010}}</ref> ''Time'' magazine called him "plodding" and "standoffish"<ref name="ReferenceA" /> as well as "pompous", "aloof", and unpopular.<ref name="Time" /> Burger was a constant irritant on the Court's group dynamic, according to ''[[The New York Times]]''' [[Linda Greenhouse]].<ref>{{harvnb|Greenhouse|2005|p=234}}.</ref> [[Jeffrey Toobin]] wrote in his book ''[[The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court|The Nine]]'' that by the time of his departure in 1986, Burger had alienated all of his colleagues to one degree or another.<ref>{{citation |last=Toobin |first=Jeffrey |author-link=Jeffrey Toobin |title=The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court |publisher=[[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]] |year=2005}}.</ref> In particular, Associate Justice [[Potter Stewart]], who had been considered a candidate to succeed Warren as chief justice, was so discontented with Burger that he became the primary source for Woodward and Armstrong when they wrote ''The Brethren''.

Greenhouse pointed to ''INS v. Chadha'' as evidence of Burger's "foundering leadership". Burger would cause the case to be delayed for over twenty months although there had been five votes to affirm the appeals court's finding of unconstitutionality after the case had been first argued: Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell, and Stevens. Burger did not allow an opinion to be assigned, first by asking for a special conference on the case and then by delaying the case for reargument when that conference fell through even though he never held a formal vote on holding the case over for reargument.<ref>{{harvnb|Greenhouse|2005|pp=154–157}}.</ref>

===Views on women judges===
No women served on the Supreme Court until 1981, and Burger was strongly opposed to giving a seat to a female judge. In 1971, President Nixon considered nominating California state Appellate Judge [[Mildred Lillie]] to the Supreme Court. Former White House Counsel [[John Dean]] had said that the greatest opposition to Lillie came from Chief Justice Burger.<ref name=Shortlisted>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IBq5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT41 |title=Shortlisted: Women in the Shadows of the Supreme Court |author1=Hannah Brenner Johnson |author2=Renee Knake Jefferson |date=2020-05-12 |publisher=NYU Press|isbn=9781479816019 }}</ref> Dean indicated that Burger threatened to resign over the nomination.<ref name=Burger>{{cite news |url=https://old.post-gazette.com/books/reviews/20011230review909.asp |title='The Rehnquist Choice' by John Dean |publisher=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |date=2001-12-30 |access-date=August 21, 2022 |archive-date=September 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220928193354/https://old.post-gazette.com/books/reviews/20011230review909.asp |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Views on homosexuality===
Burger was deeply prejudiced against gay people to an extent which bordered on hysteria.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Collins |title=Accidental Activists |date=August 15, 2017 |publisher=University of North Texas press |isbn=9781574417036 |pages=66 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7FExDwAAQBAJ&q=warren%20burger%20homosexuality}}</ref> Burger sent [[Byron White]], who wrote the majority opinion in ''[[Bowers v. Hardwick]]'' upholding laws banning homosexual relations between consenting adults, a letter telling him to condemn homosexuality in his opinion. White refused.<ref>{{cite web |title=Justice White's papers reveal Bowers debate |url=https://www.law.com/dailyreportonline/almID/1202551080125/ |website=Law.com |access-date=October 30, 2021 |archive-date=October 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030014117/https://www.law.com/dailyreportonline/almID/1202551080125/ |url-status=live }}</ref> When [[Lewis F. Powell Jr.|Lewis Powell]] voted to strike down the anti-gay laws, Burger aggressively lobbied him to change his mind, and sent him a letter so hostile towards homosexuals that Powell mockingly described it as "nonsense".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Urofsky |title=Supreme Decisions |date=April 27, 2018 |publisher=Taylor and Francis |isbn=9780429972621}}</ref> Burger wrote his own opinion attacking homosexuality, quoting a description of it as "an infamous crime against nature, of deeper malignity than rape, and an act not fit to be named, the very mention of which is an affront to human nature", and noted, with apparent approval, that homosexuals were once executed.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Burger |first1=Warren E. |title=Bowers v. Hardwick/ Concurrence Burger |url=https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/478/186/#tab-opinion-1956747 |website=Justia |access-date=3 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Price |first1=Deborah |last2=Murdoch |first2=Joyce |title=Courting Justice |date=May 9, 2002 |publisher=Basic Books |isbn=9780465015146 |page=319 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_btvswEACAAJ |access-date=7 January 2022}}</ref> Burger's language mobilized [[gay rights]] advocates to work to overturn sodomy laws, eventually succeeding in the 2003 case ''[[Lawrence v. Texas]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sheyn |first1=Elizabeth |title=The short heard around the LGBT world |journal=Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity |volume=4 |url=https://www.tourolaw.edu/journalrge/uploads/issues/vol4issue1/sheyn-final.pdf |access-date=October 30, 2021 |archive-date=October 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027160732/https://www.tourolaw.edu/journalrge/uploads/issues/vol4issue1/sheyn-final.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Later life and death==
[[File:Chief Justice Warren E. Burger (18678489024).jpg|thumb|Burger's burial site, next to his wife's, at Arlington National Cemetery]]

Burger left office on September 26, 1986,<ref name=SCOTUSjustices/> in part to lead the campaign to mark the bicentennial of the [[United States Constitution]]. He was succeeded as chief justice by [[William Rehnquist]].<ref>{{cite web| title=Examining the legacy of Chief Justice Warren Burger| date=June 9, 2021| publisher=National Constitution Center| location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania| url=https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/examining-the-legacy-of-chief-justice-warren-burger| work=constitution Daily| access-date=February 22, 2022}}</ref> He served longer than any other chief justice appointed in the 20th century.<ref>[http://www.supremecourthistory.org/02_history/subs_history/02_c15.html Supreme Court History, the Burger Court] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006160557/http://supremecourthistory.org/02_history/subs_history/02_c15.html |date=October 6, 2008 }} at [[Supreme Court Historical Society]].</ref>

In 1987, [[Princeton University]]'s [[American Whig-Cliosophic Society]] awarded Burger the [[James Madison Award for Distinguished Public Service]].<ref>{{cite web | title=James Madison Award for Distinguished Public Service - 1975 William O. Douglas | website=The American Whig-Cliosophic Society | date=2020-12-07 | url=https://whigclio.princeton.edu/james-madison-award-for-distinguished-public-service/ | access-date=2025-09-17}}</ref> In 1988, he was awarded the prestigious [[United States Military Academy]]'s [[Sylvanus Thayer Award]] as well as the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]].

In a 1991 appearance on the ''[[PBS NewsHour|MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour]]'', Burger stated that the notion that [[Second Amendment to the United States Constitution|the Second Amendment]] guaranteed an unlimited individual right to obtain any kind of weapon "has been the subject of one of the greatest pieces of fraud, I repeat the word 'fraud,' on the American public by special interest groups".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Stevens|first1=John Paul|title=Opinion: The five extra words that can fix the Second Amendment|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-five-extra-words-that-can-fix-the-second-amendment/2014/04/11/f8a19578-b8fa-11e3-96ae-f2c36d2b1245_story.html|access-date=January 25, 2024|newspaper=Washington Post|date=April 11, 2014|archive-date=July 23, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170723220517/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-five-extra-words-that-can-fix-the-second-amendment/2014/04/11/f8a19578-b8fa-11e3-96ae-f2c36d2b1245_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> 

On June 25, 1995, Burger died from [[congestive heart failure]] at [[Sibley Memorial Hospital]] in Washington, at the age of 87.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/26/obituaries/warren-e-burger-is-dead-at-87-was-chief-justice-for-17-years.html|title=Warren E. Burger Is Dead at 87; Was Chief Justice for 17 Years|author=Linda Greenhouse|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=June 26, 1995|access-date=June 13, 2021|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613051905/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/26/obituaries/warren-e-burger-is-dead-at-87-was-chief-justice-for-17-years.html|url-status=live}}</ref> All of his papers were donated to the [[College of William and Mary]], where he had served as [[Chancellor (education)|Chancellor]]; however, they will not be open to the public until ten years after the death of [[Sandra Day O'Connor]] in 2033-2034, the last surviving member of the Burger Court, per the donor agreement. O'Connor died on December 1, 2023.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://libraries.wm.edu/libraries/departments/special-collections/warren-burger-collection|title=Warren E. Burger Collection|date=2010-12-08|website=William & Mary Libraries|language=en|access-date=2019-07-17|archive-date=July 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717160300/https://libraries.wm.edu/libraries/departments/special-collections/warren-burger-collection|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="_papers">{{cite news |last1=Schechter |first1=Ute |title=Warren E. Burger Collection |url=https://libraries.wm.edu/special-collections-research-center/collections/warren-burger-collection |access-date=17 June 2022 |work=William & Mary Libraries |date=8 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515090700/https://libraries.wm.edu/special-collections-research-center/collections/warren-burger-collection |archive-date=15 May 2021 |language=en |quote=In accordance with the donor agreement, the Warren E. Burger Papers are closed to researchers until at least 2032.*  * The deed of gift specifies that the papers are to remain closed to researchers until 10 years after the last Justice who served with Warren E. Burger on the Supreme Court has passed away, or 2026, whichever comes later.}}</ref>

Burger's casket [[Lying in state#United States|lay in repose]] in the Great Hall of the [[United States Supreme Court Building]]. His remains are interred at [[Arlington National Cemetery]].<ref name="arlingtoncemetery.net">{{Cite web|url=http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/eburger.htm|title=Elvera S. Burger, Supreme Court Spouse|website=www.arlingtoncemetery.net|access-date=September 9, 2012|archive-date=October 7, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007214818/http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/eburger.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Legacy==

As chief justice, Burger was instrumental in founding the Supreme Court Historical Society and was its first president. Burger is often cited as one of the foundational proponents of [[Alternative Dispute Resolution]] (ADR), particularly in its ability to ameliorate an overloaded justice system. In a speech given in front of the [[American Bar Association]], Chief Justice Burger lamented the state of the justice system in 1984, saying, "Our system is too costly, too painful, too destructive, too inefficient for a truly civilized people. To rely on the adversary process as the principal means of resolving conflicting claims is a mistake that must be corrected."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fsmlaw.org/fsm/decisions/vol3/3fsm015_017.htm|title=FSM 3 Intrm. 015-017|website=www.fsmlaw.org|access-date=February 7, 2009|archive-date=March 26, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326014919/http://www.fsmlaw.org/fsm/decisions/vol3/3fsm015_017.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The Warren E. Burger Federal Courthouse<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ryancompanies.com/projects/warren-e-burger-federal-building-us-courthouse/pager/|title=Warren E. Burger Federal Building — U.S. Courthouse - St. Paul, Minnesota|website=www.ryancompanies.com|access-date=February 7, 2009|archive-date=November 20, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120070702/http://www.ryancompanies.com/projects/warren-e-burger-federal-building-us-courthouse/pager|url-status=live}}</ref> in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and the Warren E. Burger Library<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mitchellhamline.edu/library/|title=Warren E. Burger Library – Mitchell Hamline School of Law|website=MitchellHamline.edu|access-date=December 29, 2017|archive-date=December 31, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171231015108/https://mitchellhamline.edu/library/|url-status=live}}</ref> at his alma mater, the [[Mitchell Hamline School of Law]] (formerly the William Mitchell College of Law, and the St. Paul College of Law at the time of Burger's attendance) are named in his honor.

==Family and personal life==

He married Elvera Stromberg in 1933. They had two children, Wade Allen Burger (1936–2002) and Margaret Elizabeth Burger (1946–2017).<ref>{{cite news |title=Mary Rose Obituary |url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/washingtonpost/obituary.aspx?fhid=17000&n=mary-rose&pid=187620041 |access-date=August 15, 2018 |newspaper=Washington Post |agency=Legacy.com |date=December 24, 2017 |archive-date=August 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816125825/https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/washingtonpost/obituary.aspx?fhid=17000&n=mary-rose&pid=187620041 |url-status=live }}</ref> Elvera Burger died at their home in Washington, D.C., on May 30, 1994, at the age of 86.<ref name="arlingtoncemetery.net" />

==See also==
* [[Demographics of the Supreme Court of the United States]]
* [[List of justices of the Supreme Court of the United States]]
* [[List of justices of the Supreme Court of the United States by court composition]]
* [[List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States (Chief Justice)]]
* [[List of United States Supreme Court justices by time in office]]
* [[List of United States Supreme Court cases by the Burger Court|United States Supreme Court cases during the Burger Court]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* [[Lucius Barker|Barker, Lucius J.]] Black Americans and the Burger Court: Implications for the Political System, 1973 Wash. U. L. Q. 747 (1973). 
* {{citation |last=Eisler |first=Kim Isaac |year=1993 |title=A Justice for All: William J. Brennan, Jr., and the Decisions That Transformed America |location=New York |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |isbn=0-671-76787-9 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/justiceforallwil00eisl }}
* Greenhouse, Linda. ''Nixon Appointee Eased Supreme Court Away from Liberal Era'', ''[[The New York Times]],'' June 26, 1995.
* {{citation |last=Greenhouse |first=Linda |author-link=Linda Greenhouse |isbn=0805080570 |title=Becoming Justice Blackmun |year=2005 |publisher=Times Books |url=https://archive.org/details/becomingjusticeb00gree }}
* Schwartz, Bernard. [http://isbn.nu/0195093879 ''A History of the Supreme Court''] Oxford University Press {{ISBN|978-0-19-509387-2}}.
* Schwartz, Bernard, ed. [http://isbn.nu/0195122593 ''The Burger Court: Counter-Revolution or Confirmation?''] Oxford University Press, 1998 {{ISBN|0-19-512259-3}}.
* {{cite book | last =Woodward |first=Robert | author-link=Bob Woodward |author2=Armstrong, Scott |author-link2=Scott Armstrong (journalist)  | title =The Brethren: Inside the Supreme Court| year =1979 | location =New York | publisher=Simon and Schuster | isbn =978-0-380-52183-8 |title-link=The Brethren (non-fiction) }}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Abraham |first=Henry J. |title=Justices and Presidents: A Political History of Appointments to the Supreme Court |url=https://archive.org/details/justicespresiden0000abra |url-access=registration |edition=3rd |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=1992 |location=New York |isbn=0-19-506557-3 }}
* {{cite book |last=Blasi |first=Vincent |title=The Burger Court : the counter-revolution that wasn't |edition=3rd |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |year=1983 |location=New Haven |isbn=9780300029413 |url=https://archive.org/details/burgercourtcount00blas }}
* {{cite book |last=Cushman |first=Clare |title=The Supreme Court Justices: Illustrated Biographies, 1789–1995 |edition=2nd |publisher=([[Supreme Court Historical Society]], Congressional Quarterly Books) |year=2001 |isbn=1-56802-126-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Frank |first=John P. |editor-last=Friedman |editor-first=Leon |editor2-last=Israel |editor2-first=Fred L. |title=The Justices of the United States Supreme Court: Their Lives and Major Opinions |publisher=Chelsea House Publishers |year=1995 |isbn=0-7910-1377-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/justicesofunited0000unse }}
* Graetz, Michael J., and Linda Greenhouse, eds. ''The Burger Court and the Rise of the Judicial Right'' (Simon & Schuster, 2016). xii, 468 pp. 
* {{cite book |editor-last=Hall |editor-first=Kermit L. |title=The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1992 |location=New York |isbn=0-19-505835-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00hall }}
* {{cite book |last=Martin |first=Fenton S. |author2=Goehlert, Robert U. |title=The U.S. Supreme Court: A Bibliography |publisher=Congressional Quarterly Books |year=1990 |location=Washington, D.C. |isbn=0-87187-554-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/ussupremecourtbi0000mart }}
* {{cite book |last=Urofsky |first=Melvin I. |title=The Supreme Court Justices: A Biographical Dictionary |publisher=Garland Publishing |year=1994 |location=New York |pages=[https://archive.org/details/supremecourtjust00melv/page/590 590] |isbn=0-8153-1176-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/supremecourtjust00melv/page/590 }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{sister project links|wikt=no|b=no|q=Warren E. Burger|s=Warren E. Burger|commons=Warren E. Burger|n=no|v=no|species=no|author=yes}}
* {{FJC Bio|319|nid=1378561|name=Warren Earl Burger<!--(1907–1995)-->}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150627055733/http://www.michaelariens.com/ConLaw/justices/burger.htm Ariens, Michael, Warren E. Burger.]
* [[Oyez.org|Oyez]], [https://www.oyez.org/justices/warren_e_burger/ Supreme Court Media, Warren E. Burger.]
* [http://www.supremecourthistory.org/02_history/subs_timeline/images_chiefs/015.html Warren E. Burger at] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006160606/http://supremecourthistory.org/02_history/subs_timeline/images_chiefs/015.html |date=October 6, 2008 }} [[Supreme Court Historical Society]]
* [http://www.supremecourthistory.org/02_history/subs_history/02_c15.html Supreme Court History, the Burger Court] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006160557/http://supremecourthistory.org/02_history/subs_history/02_c15.html |date=October 6, 2008 }} at Supreme Court Historical Society.
* [http://justices.grave.photos/burger ''Warren E Burger'', Gravesites of the Justices]
* {{C-SPAN|57}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-legal}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Harold Montelle Stephens]]}}
{{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Judge of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit]]}}|years=1956–1969}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Malcolm Richard Wilkey]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Earl Warren]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Chief Justice of the United States]]|years=1969–1986}}
{{s-aft|after=[[William Rehnquist]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{SCOTUS Justices|chiefjustices}}
{{College of William & Mary chancellors}}
{{James Smithson Medal recipients}}
{{Lain in State (USA)|state=collapsed}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burger, Warren E.}}
[[Category:1907 births]]
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[[Category:American Presbyterians]]
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[[Category:Chancellors of the College of William & Mary]]
[[Category:Chief justices of the United States]]
[[Category:Deaths from congestive heart failure in the United States]]
[[Category:Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit]]
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[[Category:University of Minnesota alumni]]
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[[Category:William Mitchell College of Law alumni]]