The Judicial Philosophy of Justice Rehnquist

In defining the contours of the Rehnquist judicial philosophy, this article will examine three sources: (1) ideas articulated by Justice Rehnquist in opinions and other writings, (2) values implicit in his pattern of decision-making as distilled from the decided cases, and (3) ideas attributed to him by others. Information from each source will be examined separately for light it sheds on the Rehnquist judicial philosophy, and each is assigned its own label. Thus, this article will refer to the self-articulated philosophy (as reflected in the Justice's writings), the attributed philosophy (as reflected in the writings of others), and the operative philosophy (as reflected in the decision record). Value patterns revealed by the three sources will, of course, overlap substantially, and one important focus of inquiry is the congruence between the self-articulated notions of constitutional adjudication and the values implicit in the case decisions.

In all of this information this article will look for a pattern which may appropriately be labeled Justice Rehnquist's judicial philosophy.