[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 105 (Monday, June 26, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9026-S9027]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT WARREN BURGER

  Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to a great 
Minnesotan--former Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Warren 
Burger, who passed away yesterday.
  Warren Burger was a native of St. Paul, MN.
  He got is first taste of law taking night classes at the University 
of Minnesota while working during the day selling insurance. Warren 
Burger later received his law degree from the old St. Paul College of 
Law.
  In his early career, he never gave much thought to pursuing a career 
on the bench, one time telling friends, ``I never had a passion to be a 
judge.''
  But he accepted the challenge when, as an assistant attorney general 
in the

[[Page S9027]]

Justice Department, President Eisenhower offered him a seat on the U.S. 
Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
  Thirteen years later, President Nixon elevated him to the High Court.
  As Chief Justice for 17 years, Warren Burger lead the Court through a 
tumultuous period in American history--first Vietnam, and later 
Watergate.
  The Burger Court could be tough, and the Chief Justice's own law and 
order reputation was well deserved, but Warren Burger's judicial 
opinions were fair and often reflected his conservative Midwestern 
upbringing.
  Fortunately, his legacy did not end with his retirement from the 
bench in 1986. Warren Burger continued his crusade to educate the 
public about the Constitution and the courts. And he never forgot his 
Minnesota roots.
  Returning home often, he would stop by his alma mater, now called the 
William Mitchell College of Law, to share his years of knowledge and 
experience with the students and judges of tomorrow.
  Mr. President, the Nation has lost a great leader, and Minnesota has 
lost a great friend. I join my colleagues in expressing our deepest 
sympathies to the family of Chief Justice Warren Burger.

                          ____________________