Earl Warren

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Earl Warren
14th Chief Justice of the United StatesCourt]]
In office October 5, 1953 – June 23, 1969
Preceded by	Fred M. Vinson
Succeeded by	Warren E. Burger
30th Governor of California
In office January 4, 1943 – October 5, 1953
Preceded by	Culbert Olson
Succeeded by	Goodwin Knight
20th Attorney General of California
Preceded by	Ulysses S. Webb
Succeeded by	Robert W. Kenny
Born	March 19, 1891 Los Angeles, California
Died	July 9, 1974, age 83 Washington, D.C.

Earl Warren (March 19, 1891 – July 9, 1974) was a California district attorney of Alameda County, the 20th Attorney General of California, the 30th Governor of California, and the 14th Chief Justice of the United States (from 1953 to 1969). As Chief Justice, his term of office was marked by numerous 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. In the years that followed, the Warren Court has become recognized as a high point in the use of the judicial power in the effort to bring about social change.

He also chaired the Warren Commission, which was formed to investigate the John F. Kennedy assassination.

Contents 1 Education and early career 2 Governor of California 3 Supreme Court 4 Family 5 Quotations 6 Interesting Facts 7 See also 8 Notes 9 External links

[edit] Education and early career

Earl Warren was born in Los Angeles, California, to Methias H. Warren, a Norwegian immigrant, and Crystal Hernlund, a Swedish immigrant. Methias Warren was a longtime employee of the Southern Pacific Railroad. Earl grew up in Bakersfield, California where he attended Washington Junior High and Kern County High School (now called Bakersfield High School). It was in Bakersfield that Warren's father was murdered during a robbery by an unknown killer. Warren went on to attend the University of California, Berkeley, both as an undergraduate (B.A. 1912) in Legal Studies and as a law student at Boalt Hall earning his JD in 1914. While at Berkeley, Warren joined the Sigma Phi Society, a fraternal organization with which he maintained lifelong ties. Warren was admitted to the California bar in 1914. Warren Hall on the campus of Bakersfield High, and Earl Warren Junior High are named in his honor in Bakersfield.

Warren worked a year for Associated Oil Company in San Francisco then joined a private law firm in Oakland. In August 1917, he enlisted in the US Army for World War I service. Assigned to the 91st Division at Camp Lewis, Washington. 1st Lieutenant Earl Warren was discharged in 1918. He served as a clerk of the Judicial Committee for the 1919 Session of the California State Assembly. (1919 - 1920), deputy city attorney of Oakland. (1920 - 1925), he served as deputy district attorney of Alameda County. At this time Warren came to the attention of powerful Republican, Joseph R. Knowland publisher of the Oakland Tribune. In 1925, Warren was appointed as District Attorney of Alameda County, the incumbent, Ezra Decoto resigned to become Railroad Commissioner. Earl Warren was re-elected to three four-year terms. Serving Alameda County as D.A. (1925 - 1939) As a tough-on-crime District Attorney and reformer who professionalized the DA's office, Warren had a reputation for high-handedness; however, none of his convictions was ever overturned on appeal. His fellow Oaklander, William H. Waste served (1926-1940), as Chief Justice of the California State Supreme Court

[edit] Governor of California

Warren became a well-known figure in California and was appointed to the Regents of the University of California while district attorney. In 1939, he became Attorney General of the State of California. He was elected Governor of California in 1942, as a Republican, defeating Democratic incumbent Culbert Olson. California law at the time allowed individuals to run in any primary election they chose. In 1946, attesting to his wide popularity, Warren managed the singular feat of winning the Republican, Democratic, and Progressive primary elections and thus ran unopposed in the 1946 general election. He was elected to a third term (as a Republican) in 1950. He is the only Governor of California to have been elected to three terms of office.

As with his predecessor Olson, Warren's governorship was initially marked by his support for the internment of Japanese and Americans of Japanese descent during World War II. However, it was also marked by laying the infrastructure to support a two-decade boom that lasted from the end of World War II until the mid-1960s. In particular, Warren and University of California President Robert G. Sproul presided over construction of a large public university system that provided education to two generations of Californians.

Warren ran for Vice President of the United States in 1948 on a ticket with Thomas Dewey. They lost narrowly to Harry Truman and Alben Barkley.

[edit] Supreme Court

In 1953, Warren was appointed Chief Justice of the United States by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who wanted a very conservative justice and commented that "he represents the kind of political, economic, and social thinking that I believe we need on the Supreme Court…[H]e has a national name for integrity, uprightness, and courage that, again, I believe we need on the Court."^[1] Warren resigned from the governorship shortly afterwards, replaced by Lieutenant Governor Goodwin Knight. Democrats claimed it was political payback. Governor Warren in 1946, appointed William F. Knowland to the US Senate. Joseph R. Knowland and the Oakland Tribune supported the political career of Warren. To the surprise of many, Warren was a much more liberal justice than had been anticipated. As a result, President Eisenhower later remarked that nominating Warren for the Chief Justice seat was "the biggest damned-fool mistake I ever made."^[2] Warren was able to craft a long series of landmark decisions including Brown v. Board of Education 347 U.S. 483 (1954), which overthrew the segregation of public schools; the "one man, one vote" cases of 1962–1964, which dramatically altered the relative power of rural regions in many states; Hernandez v. Texas, which gave Mexican-Americans the right to serve on juries; and Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966), which required that certain rights of a person being interrogated while in police custody be clearly explained, including the right to an attorney (often called the "Miranda warning").

At the direct request of President Lyndon Johnson Warren headed what became known as the Warren Commission to investigate the circumstances of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The Commission eventually concluded that the assassination was the result of a single individual, Lee Harvey Oswald, acting alone. The Commission's findings have long been controversial.^[3]

After the assassination of Robert Kennedy in 1968 Warren announced that due to his advanced age, he would be retiring from the court, effective upon his successor's confirmation. Although Warren denied it, this was seen by observers as a preemptive move by Warren to keep Richard Nixon from naming his succesor; he believed Nixon would win the presidency after Kennedy's death. Warren and Nixon had a tense relationship after Warren declined to endorse Nixon during his first campaign for Congress in 1946. This tension gave way to animosity starting in 1952 at the Republican Convention where Warren was a candidate; Warren believed Nixon undermined his nomination.

Johnson nominated Abe Fortas, but after his confirmation hearing went badly Fortas was forced to withdraw his nomination. As a result, Warren was forced to stay on as Chief Justice. Both he and Fortas returned to the court for the 1969 session as a result. Warren swore in Nixon as President. Nixon then nominated Warren Earl Burger—a man Warren did not hold in high regard—to replace Earl Warren as Chief Justice.^[4]

Warren retired from the Supreme Court in 1969. He was affectionately known by many as the "Superchief," although he became a lightning rod for controversy among conservatives: signs declaring "Impeach Earl Warren" could be seen across the South throughout the 1960s. The unsuccessful impeachment drive was a major focus of the John Birch Society.^[5] In 1977, Fourth College, one of the six undergraduate colleges at the University of California, San Diego, was renamed Earl Warren College in his honor. A middle school in Solana Beach, California, high schools in San Antonio, Texas (Earl Warren High School) and Downey, California, and a building at the high school he attended (Bakersfield High School) are named for him, as are the showgrounds in Santa Barbara, California. The freeway portion of California State Route 13 in Alameda County is the Warren Freeway.

As Chief Justice, he swore in Presidents Eisenhower (second term), Kennedy, Johnson (full term) and Nixon (first term).

[edit] Family

Warren was married to a young widow born in Sweden named Nina Palmquist Meyers. They married on October 4, 1925 and had 6 children. Mrs. Warren died in Washington D.C. at age 100 on April 24, 1993. Warren is the father of Virginia Warren, who married veteran radio and television newsman and host of What's My Line?, John Charles Daly, on December 22, 1960. They had three children, two boys and a girl.

Warren died in Washington, DC on July 9, 1974. The Earl Warren Bill of Rights Project is named in his honor. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously in 1981.

[edit] Quotations

• "Legislators represent people, not trees or acres. Legislators are elected by voters, not farms or cities or economic interests." From Reynolds v. Sims, on the subject of State Senate apportionment.
• "Implicit in the term 'national defense' is the notion of defending those values and ideals which set this Nation apart. For almost two centuries, our country has taken singular pride in the democratic ideals enshrined in its Constitution, and the most cherished of those ideals have found expression in the First Amendment. It would indeed be ironic if, in the name of national defense, we would sanction the subversion of one of those liberties - the freedom of association - which makes the defense of the Nation worthwhile." United States v. Robel (1967)
• "I always turn to the sports section first. The sports section records people's accomplishments; the front page nothing but man's failures." From Sports Illustrated, July 22, 1968
• "The only reason that there has been no sabotage or espionage on the part of Japanese-Americans is that they are waiting for the right moment to strike." Testimony before Congress on the Internment of people of Japanese Ancestry (1941)
• "I have since deeply regretted the removal order and my own testimony advocating it, because it was not in keeping with our American concept of freedom and the rights of citizens. Whenever I thought of the innocent little children who were torn from home, school friends and congenial surroundings, I was conscience-stricken." Remarking on his past advocacy on Japanese internment in his autobiography

[edit] Interesting Facts

Earl Warren was a freemason, a member, and Past Master of The Sequoia Lodge #349 in Oakland, California. The Sequoia Lodge consolidated with Pleasanton Lodge, No. 321, F.& AM in Pleasanton, CA. Pleasanton Lodge No. 321

In 1936, Warren dedicated the Alameda County Court House at 12th and Fallon Streets in Oakland. Warren wore his full Masonic regalia.

He served in the capacity of Grand Master from 1935 to 1936 for the Grand Lodge of California.

[edit] See also

• United States Supreme Court cases during the Warren Court
• Newton, Jim (2006). Justice for All: Earl Warren and the Nation He Made. Riverhead Hardcover. ISBN 1594489289.
• Warren, Earl (2001). The Memoirs of Chief Justice Earl Warren. Madison Books. ISBN 1568332343.
• Cray, Ed (1997). Chief Justice: A Biography of Earl Warren. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0684808528.
• Melendy, H. Brett and Gilbert, Benjamin F. (1965) The Governors of California.
• Conmy, Peter T. (1961) The Beginnings of Oakland California.

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Transcript, Earl Warren Oral History Interview I, 9/21/71, by Joe B. Frantz, Internet Copy, LBJ Library. Accessed April 3, 2005.
• Earl Warren High School Transcripts, source courtesy Bakersfield High School
• Official California gubernatorial biography and inaugural addresses
• More infomartion on Earl Warren and his Masonic Career.

Preceded by Ulysses S. Webb	California Attorney General 1939–1943	Succeeded by Robert W. Kenny
Preceded by Culbert Olson	Governor of California 1943–1953	Succeeded by Goodwin Knight
Preceded by John W. Bricker	Republican Party Vice Presidential nominees 1948 (lost)	Succeeded by Richard Nixon
Preceded by Fred M. Vinson	Chief Justice of the United States October 5, 1953 – June 23, 1969	Succeeded by Warren E. Burger

v • d • e Governors of California
Burnett • McDougall • Bigler • J. Johnson • Weller • Latham • Downey • Stanford • Low • Haight • Booth • Pacheco • Irwin • Perkins • Stoneman • Bartlett • Waterman • Markham • Budd • Gage • Pardee • Gillett • H. Johnson • Stephens • Richardson • Young • Rolph • Merriam • Olson • Warren • Knight • P. Brown • Reagan • J. Brown • Deukmejian • Wilson • Davis • Schwarzenegger

United States Republican Party Vice Presidential Nominees
Dayton • Hamlin • Johnson • Colfax • Wilson • Wheeler • Arthur • Logan • Morton • Reid • Hobart • Roosevelt • Fairbanks • Sherman • Butler • Fairbanks • Coolidge • Dawes • Curtis • Knox • McNary • Bricker • Warren • Nixon • Lodge • Miller • Agnew • Dole • Bush • Quayle • Kemp • Cheney

Members of the Warren Commission
Earl Warren (Chairman) • Hale Boggs • John Cooper • Allen Dulles • Gerald Ford • John McCloy • Richard Russell

Chief Justices of the United States of America
Jay • Rutledge • Ellsworth • Marshall • Taney • Chase • Waite • Fuller • White • Taft • Hughes • Stone • Vinson • Warren • Burger • Rehnquist • Roberts

The Warren Court
1953–1954:	H. Black | S.F. Reed | F. Frankfurter | Wm. O. Douglas | R.H. Jackson | H.H. Burton | T.C. Clark | S. Minton
1955–1956:	H. Black | S.F. Reed | F. Frankfurter | Wm. O. Douglas | H.H. Burton | T.C. Clark | S. Minton | J.M. Harlan II
1956–1957:	H. Black | S.F. Reed | F. Frankfurter | Wm. O. Douglas | H.H. Burton | T.C. Clark | J.M. Harlan II | Wm. J. Brennan
1957–1958:	H. Black | F. Frankfurter | Wm. O. Douglas | H.H. Burton | T.C. Clark | J.M. Harlan II | Wm. J. Brennan | C.E. Whittaker
1958–1962:	H. Black | F. Frankfurter | Wm. O. Douglas | T.C. Clark | J.M. Harlan II | Wm. J. Brennan | C.E. Whittaker | P. Stewart
1962–1965:	H. Black | Wm. O. Douglas | T.C. Clark | J.M. Harlan II | Wm. J. Brennan | P. Stewart | B. White | A.J. Goldberg
1965–1967:	H. Black | Wm. O. Douglas | T.C. Clark | J.M. Harlan II | Wm. J. Brennan | P. Stewart | B. White | A. Fortas
1967–1969:	H. Black | Wm. O. Douglas | J.M. Harlan II | Wm. J. Brennan | P. Stewart | B. White | A. Fortas | T. Marshall