Rehnquist Court

Supreme Court of the United States

Rehnquist Court
Burger Court ← → Roberts Court
Chief Justice William Rehnquist
September 26, 1986 – September 3, 2005 (18 years, 342 days)
Seat	Supreme Court Building Washington, D.C.
No. of positions	9
Rehnquist Court decisions

The Rehnquist Court was the period in the history of the Supreme Court of the United States during which William Rehnquist served as Chief Justice. Rehnquist succeeded Warren Burger as Chief Justice after the latter's retirement, and Rehnquist held this position until his death in 2005, at which point John Roberts was nominated and confirmed as Rehnquist's replacement. The Rehnquist Court is generally considered to be more conservative than the preceding Burger Court, but not as conservative as the succeeding Roberts Court. According to Jeffrey Rosen, Rehnquist combined an amiable nature with great organizational skill, and he "led a Court that put the brakes on some of the excesses of the Earl Warren era while keeping pace with the sentiments of a majority of the country."^[1]

Biographer John Jenkins argued that Rehnquist politicized the Supreme Court and moved the court and the country to the right.^[2] Through its rulings, the Rehnquist Court often promoted a policy of New Federalism in which more power was given to the states at the expense of the federal government.^[3] The Rehnquist Court was also notable for its stability, as the same nine justices served together for 11 years from 1994 to 2005, the longest such stretch in Supreme Court history.^[4]