Return to the Antebellum Constitution - The Rehnquist Court (From What Changes Are Most Needed in the Procedures Used in the United States Justice System? P 165-171, 1984 - See NCJ-92785)

• NCJ Number: 92789
• Author(s): O Fiss; Krauthammer
• Date Published: 1984
• Length: 7 pages
• Publication Format: Document
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Reprinted from the New Republic, V 186, Mar. 10, 1982, P 14-18.

Annotation

United States Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist seeks to transfer power from the Federal Government to the States because the States are mainly concerned with preserving property and public order. He uses State autonomy to repudiate the value of equality.

Abstract

Justice Rehnquist appears to have much influence with the other Justices and frequently writes the full Court opinion. He is working to free the States from the restrictions of the national Constitution, particularly those emanating from the Civil War Amendments and the Bill of Rights. Before the Civil War, the Bill of Rights limited only the national government and not the States. The Civil War Amendments, especially the 14th, made nearly all the protections of the Bill of Rights applicable to the States. Rehnquist has denounced this process, known as the incorporation doctrine. He has marshaled a majority of the Court for his radical view of State autonomy: imposing strict limits on the powers of the Federal courts and Congress. However, since State courts are more subject to politics, transferring power to the State courts will reduce the level of enforcement and make more uneven the implementation of 14th amendment protections.