[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 107 (Friday, July 25, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S8149]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 SUPREME COURT JUSTICE WILLIAM BRENNAN

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, it is with great sadness that we mark the 
passing of William Brennan, who served so ably on the U.S. Supreme 
Court.
  Appointed by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1956, the New Jersey 
judge soon rose to a position of intellectual leadership on the Court. 
Even his critics acknowledge that he has exercised a fundamental 
influence on the direction of American jurisprudence. He wrote almost 
1,400 opinions and helped shape countless others, providing guidance on 
issues from civil liberties, race relations and privacy to criminal 
justice, economic fairness, and governmental power.
  Justice Brennan believed deeply that law must protect human dignity 
and that the Founding Fathers recognized that principle when they 
drafted our Constitution. He saw the Constitution as a guarantee that 
our fundamental rights cannot be diminished or denied simply because 
that is the will of the majority.
  During his 34 years on the Court, Justice Brennan did not waiver in 
his convictions, speaking out in his opinions and in public on the most 
important moral issues of the day. His deeply held beliefs and 
carefully crafted judicial opinions have had a profound influence upon 
us all.
  Along with his distinction as a jurist, Justice Brennan was well 
known for his warmth and good humor, and he had friends from all parts 
of the political spectrum. I know that I speak for all of us in saying 
that he will be missed.

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