Warren Burger

Owen Longchamps

Professor Hewitt

November 15, 2011

One of the most interesting Chief justices to be present on the court till this day is Warren Earl Burger. Burger was born on September 7, 1907 in St. Paul Minnesota and is one of seven children. Burger's parents are of Swiss and German descent; Joesph Burger, Warren's father, fought in the U.S civil war at only the age of 14 and was awarded the medal of honor for getting wounded in combat.

Burger lived on a farm while he was growing up, and when he was old enough attended John A. Johnson High School where he was the president of the student council. This is interesting because it shows that even at a young age Burger was more inclined to be a leader, not a follower. Burger also competed in track, swimming, football, and hockey; this also shows how Burger was not only a leader but a competitor as well, and enjoyed the thrill of it. During his high school years Burger also wrote sports articles for the local newspapers for his school as well. Burger graduated in 1925 and that same year helped build the Robert Street Bridge, which still exists in St. Paul today. Burger continued his strive for excellency when he attended the University of Minnesota. Burger was not a regular student, but he attended class at night. The reason for him going to school late at night was so that he could work during the day, which he did as an insurance salesman. After his undergraduate degree he attended the William Mitchell School for Law (know as St. Paul's School of Law at the time); Burger graduated from St. Paul's school of Law with magna cum lade, meaning that he graduated with high honors from Law school.

Immediately after graduation, Burger was hired by the Boyensen, Otis, and Faricy law firm to be a lawyer. Burger was given this position straight out of school due to his extremely hard work and his high honors at school. At the start f Burger's career he didn't really do anything major or standout. After 8 years of serving as a lawyer, Burger decided t put himself out there by being one of the major aides for the Minnesota Gubernatorial Campaign. Burger aided Harold Stassen, but Stassen failed to made the nomination for the republican party. Burger sparked the interest of future president Dwight D Eisenhower because he played a key role in the nomination by reading the Minnesota delegation. Right after Eisenhower was elected to office, he appointed Burger to be an assistant Attorney General and headed the department of civil rights. Burger argued in front of the U.S Supreme Court, losing once and also successfully won a case as well. The case he won had to to with the Texas City Ship Disaster and claimed that the federal government owed nothing to the city based on the fact of a Federal tort law. Only after 3 years of being an assistant Attorney General, in1956 he was appointed to the U.S district court of Appeals to the District of Columbia. Burger served on the court for about 13 years.

Toward the end of his stint as an appellate court judge, Earl Warren announced his retirement after serving 15 years as chief justice. Nixon first appointed Fortas, but was not appointed due to a filibuster. Then, after Nixon read a U.S. News Report magazine, he read an article about Burger and decided to nominate him for a place on the bench as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Nixon also appointed Burger because of the fact that he was highly conservative and a strict-constructionist. After Nixon appointed Burger to the court, the Senate judiciary committee met for the approval of Burger. The meeting lasted not a minute more then an hour and 40 minutes.

As soon as Burger was appointed to the high court, in the first few years is when his court would make some very crucial decisions. One of the first major issues that Burger had