Writing 125: Nixon and the Supreme Court

Nixon and the Supreme Court

Supreme Court justices appointed by Richard Nixon

United States v. Richard Nixon

Supreme Court Justices Appointed by Nixon

Justice William Rehnquist Justice Warren Burger Justice Harry Blackmun

Justice William Rehnquist

- Appointed to the Court by Nixon in 1972.
- Appointed Chief Justice by President Ronald Regan in 1986.

Rehnquist was a close friend of Richard Nixon's, so much so that he recused himself-- to avoid a conflict of interest-- from the landmark decision in United States v. Richard M. Nixon (1974). In its opinion, a unanimous Court rejected Nixon's broad and unqualified claim of executive privilege in the Watergate tapes case. Nixon was forced to produce tapes and transcripts of Oval Office conversations with his closest aides--among them, John Erlichman, H.R. Haldeman and Charles Colson. The Court's decision requiring Nixon to produce these materials to Watergate Special Prosecutor Leon Jaworski was handed down on July 24, 1974. Nixon resigned (rather than face almost certain impeachment) on August 9, 1974.

As of this date, Rehnquist is still serving on the Court, although his recent bout with a particularly aggressive form of thyroid cancer has caused Court watchers to expect his resignation in the coming months.

"In a spare statement released by his family, the laconic Rehnquist disclosed he is 'not about to retire' and would serve on the court 'as long as my health permits.' But the statement was notable as much for what it did not say as for what it did.

Rehnquist did not say he would be back on the bench the first Monday in October, when the court will begin its new term. He did not discuss the severity of his cancer and, in fact, has yet to reveal the type of thyroid cancer he is fighting."

The Chicago Tribune < 18 Jul 2005>

Click here to go to Oyez. org for more information on Justice William Rehnquist.

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Chief Justice Warren Burger

- Appointed to the Court by Nixon in 1970.
- Served as Chief Justice on the Court for 17 years, succeeding Chief Justice Earl Warren.
- Died in 1995.

Burger wrote the unnanimous opinion in United States v. Richard Nixon, which resulted in the President's production of the incriminating Watergate audiotapes, and soon thereafter, Nixon's resignation from the office of Presidency.

Although widely considered a strict constructionist, Burger was, as Oyez.org commentary notes, "not one-dimensional."

Click here to go to Oyez.org for more information on Chief Justice Warren Burger.

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Justice Harry Blackmun

- Appointed to the Court by Nixon in 1970.
- Retired from the bench in 1994 after 24 years of service.
- Died in 1999.

Nixon expected Blackmun to be a proponent of law-and-order and to vote conservatively on major issues before the Court. However, Blackmun proved successful at tuning out the White House, and in 1973, he authored the landmark opinion in Roe v. Wade, in which the Court declared that the right to privacy included a woman's constitutional right to an abortion up until fetal viability. By the time of his death in 1999 he was widely viwed by Court-watchers as one of the most progressive jurists of the twentieth century.

Click here to go to Oyez.org for more information on Justice Harry Blackmun.

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United States v. Richard Nixon

Timeline:

Year	Date	What Happened
1972	June 17	Break-in at the Democratic National Committee Headquarters, Watergate, by Republican operatives Bernard Barker, Virgilio González, Eugenio Martínez, James W. McCord, Jr. and Frank Sturgis (“the plumbers”).
1973	January 8	The plumbers, as well as the men who coordinated the break- in. Howard Hunt and Gordon Liddy, all plead guilty to burglary, conspiracy and wiretapping.
	April 30	Nixon appoints Eliot Richardson as Attorney General and gives him authority to appoint a Special Prosecutor to investigate Watergate—the break-in and any involvement by Nixon’s staff or Committee to Re-Elect the President.
	May 18	Richardson names Harvard Law professor Archibald Cox as Special Prosecutor.
	July	Cox subpoenas the President’s tape recordings of Oval Office conversations about the break-in and cover-up; Nixon, through his Attorney General, asks Cox to drop the subpoena, and Cox refuses.
	August 29	Judge Sirica orders Nixon to hand over tapes to be reviewed in the judge’s chambers. Nixon moves to quash the subpoena, but Sirica rules against him.
	October 12	Nixon nominates Gerald Ford, Republican Minority leader in the House of Representatives, as vice-president. The US Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia affirms Sirica's ruling that Nixon must produce tape recordings relevant to the Watergate break-in.
	October 23	Bowing to pressure, Nixon agrees to release some of the tapes.
	October 20	In what became known as the Saturday Night Massacre, Nixon compelled the resignations of Richardson and his deputy in a search for someone in the Justice Department willing to fire Cox. Solicitor General Robert Bork, now the acting Attorney-General, dismissed Cox.
	November 1	Leon Jaworski appointed new Watergate Special Prosecutor.
1974	March 1	Grand jury names Nixon as an unindicted co-conspirator in the case against Nixon’s aides, for conspiracy.
	April 16	Jaworski subpoenas more of Nixon’s tapes; Nixon moves to have the subpoena quashed, or voided, but D.C. District Court Judge John Sirica denies Nixon’s motion. Nixon files an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to protect himself from having to release all the tapes of his Oval Office conversation with aides.
		The Supreme Court (minus Justice Rehnquiest, who recuses himself) unanimously rejects Nixon’s broad claim of executive privilege.
	July 8	Oral argument before the Court . Oyez: Click here to listen to oral arguments in U.S v. Nixon
	July 24	Opinion in U..S. v. Nixon issued. Click here to read the Supreme Court opinion in U.S. v. Nixon.
	July 27	House of Representatives Judiciary Committee votes to issue Article of Impeachment on grounds of obstruction of justice.
	July 29	House of Representaives Judiciary Committee issues second Article of Impeachment for abuse of power.
	July 30	Nixon complies with the subpoena and releases the requested tapes. House of Representaives Judiciary Committee issues third Article of Impeachment for contempt of Congress.
	August 5	Nixon releases the “smoking gun” tape, so called because it reveals that Nixon ordered the FBI to abandon its investigation of the break-in.
	August 8	In a nationally televised address Nixon announces that he will resign the following day.
	August 9	Nixon resigns.
	September 8	Nixon’s successor, President Gerald Ford, issues Nixon a blanket pardon.

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Created By: Tiffany Mok '06 and Courtney Chin '07
Date Created: July 7, 2005
Date Updated: August 9, 2005
Maintained By: Professor Lynne Viti, Writing Program
Expires: June 30, 2006