Justice William J. Brennan
Lawyer, jurist
Born: April 25, 1906, in Newark, New Jersey
Died: July 24, 1997, in Arlington, Virginia
New Jersey Hall of Fame, Class of 2010: Public Service
Known for his outspoken progressive views, Justice William J. Brennan was one of the 20th century’s most influential members of the U.S. Supreme Court, where he served for some 34 years.
The son of Irish immigrants, Brennan grew up in working-class Newark. His father was a coal stoker at the Ballantine brewery, but became a union leader and a local political power as Newark’s commissioner of public safety. The younger Brennan attended Barringer High School and went on to graduate with honors from the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce at the University of Pennsylvania.
Brennan continued his education at Harvard Law School, graduating near the top of his class in 1931. He entered private practice as a trial lawyer in New Jersey until the outbreak of World War II. During the war, he served as a major in the legal division of the Army’s Ordnance Department, earning the Legion of Merit Award. Discharged after the war as a colonel, he returned to private practice in New Jersey, where he became involved in the movement to reform the state’s Constitution and legal system.
In 1949, the state’s Republican governor, Alfred E. Driscoll, appointed Brennan, a Democrat, to the state Superior Court. Brennan was soon elevated to the Appellate Division and in 1952, Driscoll appointed him to state Supreme Court. Brennan earned a national reputation as a reformer and in 1956 was tapped by the Republican president, Dwight D. Eisenhower, for a seat on the nation’s Supreme Court.
A strong believer in the Bill of Rights, Brennan played a leading role on the High Court throughout his tenure, but especially when fellow liberal Earl Warren served as chief justice in the 1950s and ‘60s. Known for his powers of persuasion, Brennan wrote many landmark opinions in key cases. During the Warren era, Brennan played a major role in expanding civil rights and free speech. Notably, he wrote the court’s opinion in the landmark case of New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, which expanded press protections under the First Amendment.
Brennan was a staunch opponent of the death penalty and a supporter of abortion rights. In 1973, he joined the majority in the court’s ruling on Roe v. Wade, which protected the right to an abortion prior to the point of fetal viability. His legacy also includes decisions that gave the Constitution’s equal protection guarantee a role in defending against sex discrimination.
In all, Brennan wrote 1,360 opinions for the Supreme Court–second only to fellow justice William O. Douglas. His impact continues to be felt today. At Brennan’s New Jersey Hall of Fame induction, fellow justice and N.J. Hall of Famer Samuel Alito cited Brennan’s “landmark decisions on free speech, on religious freedom, reapportionment, civil rights, and criminal procedure.” Alito added, “His influence on our country is hard to measure…His opinions reflect his deep dedication to the Bill of Rights and to the principle of equality.”