# William J. Brennan Jr. *Associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1956–1990* William Joseph Brennan Jr. (April 25, 1906 – July 24, 1997) was a lawyer and judge who sat as an associate justice of the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] from 1956 until 1990.[^1] Only seven justices have served longer, and the Wikipedia article on him describes him as a leader of the Court's liberal wing.[^1] Dwight D. Eisenhower, a Republican president, put Brennan, a Democrat, on the Court by recess appointment shortly before the 1956 presidential election. The Senate confirmed him the next year.[^2][^3] Brennan held the seat until he retired in 1990, and [[David Souter]] took his place.[^2] According to the same article, Brennan was regarded as one of the Court's most influential members because he could shape a wide range of opinions and bargain for votes.[^4] [[Antonin Scalia]], his colleague on the Court from 1986 to 1990, called him "probably the most influential Justice of the [20th] century."[^4] ## Early life and education Brennan was born in Newark, New Jersey, on April 25, 1906. He was the second of eight children of William and Agnes (McDermott) Brennan, Irish immigrants who both came from County Roscommon and met in the United States.[^5] His father worked as a metal polisher and later served as Newark's Commissioner of Public Safety from 1927 to 1930.[^5] After Newark public schools, Brennan finished Barringer High School in 1924.[^6] Princeton University accepted him, but at his father's wishes he went to the [[University of Pennsylvania]] instead. He moved from the College of Arts & Sciences to the Wharton School after one year and earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics, cum laude, in 1928.[^6] At Harvard Law School he belonged to the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau. He received a Bachelor of Laws in 1931 and finished among the top of his class.[^6] At 21, Brennan married Marjorie Leonard, whom he had known since high school. They had three children: William III, Nancy, and Hugh.[^7] ## Early legal career and military service Brennan practiced labor law in New Jersey at Pitney Hardin, the firm later known as Day Pitney.[^8] The Army commissioned him as a major in March 1942. He did legal work for the ordnance division, earned the Legion of Merit Award, and left the service as a colonel in 1946, after serving early that year on the staff of the United States Undersecretary of War.[^8] He then returned to Pitney Hardin for three more years, and his partners soon added his name to the firm.[^8] New Jersey [[governor]] Alfred E. Driscoll named Brennan to the Superior Court, a trial court, in 1949. In 1951 Driscoll appointed him to the Supreme Court of New Jersey.[^9] ## Supreme Court ### Supreme Court appointment Eisenhower gave Brennan a recess appointment as associate justice on October 15, 1956, and Brennan took the oath the next day.[^3] Cardinal Francis Spellman had asked Eisenhower to appoint a Catholic to the Court. Brennan was one of two candidates who met all three of Eisenhower's criteria: lower-court experience, relative youth and good health, and being Catholic.[^3] The nomination went to the Senate Judiciary Committee on January 14, 1957.[^10] It drew opposition from two sources. The National Liberal League objected to a Catholic nominee. Senator Joseph McCarthy cited a speech in which Brennan had called overzealous anti-Communist investigations "witch-hunts."[^10] At his confirmation hearing, Brennan answered McCarthy and said he would decide cases only on the Constitution, not on Church law. The Senate confirmed him almost unanimously, and McCarthy cast the only vote against him.[^10] ### Opinions and positions The Wikipedia article attributes outspoken progressive views to Brennan, including support for abortion rights and gay rights and opposition to the death penalty.[^11] On the death penalty, it reports that he dissented in more than 1,400 cases where the Court declined to review a death sentence.[^11] His authored opinions include: - *Baker v. Carr* (1962), which held that the drawing of legislative districts can be decided by courts.[^11] - *New York Times Co. v. Sullivan* (1964), which set an "actual malice" standard for libel suits brought by public officials.[^11] - *Eisenstadt v. Baird* (1972), which recognized a legal right to contraception for unmarried people.[^11] - *Craig v. Boren* (1976), which made laws that discriminate on the basis of sex subject to heightened scrutiny under the [[Equal Protection Clause]].[^11] ## Later life and death Brennan retired in 1990 after a mild stroke. He had first intended to stay on the Court, but his doctors warned that continued work risked a more debilitating stroke.[^12] In retirement he stayed on friendly terms with Souter.[^12] In 1995 several of his former clerks started the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University, a research institute named for him.[^12] Brennan broke his hip in a fall in November 1996. He was undergoing rehabilitation at a nursing home in Arlington, Virginia, when he died there on July 24, 1997, at 91.[^13] He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery beside his first wife and near other Supreme Court justices. Mary Fowler Brennan was buried in the same gravesite after her death in 2000.[^13] ## Honors and awards The University of Notre Dame awarded Brennan its Laetare Medal in 1969.[^14] In 1987 Jefferson Awards gave him its U.S. Senator John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official.[^14] In 1989 the Hudson County Courthouse in Jersey City, which opened in 1910, was renamed the William J. Brennan Court House, and he received the Freedom Medal the same year.[^14] President Bill Clinton presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on November 30, 1993.[^14] After his death, Brennan lay in repose in the Great Hall of the Supreme Court Building.[^15] In 2010 he was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame, and William J. Brennan High School was founded in San Antonio, Texas.[^15] In Newark, Brennan Park, across from the Essex County Veterans Courthouse, bears his name, and a statue of him stands in front of the Essex County Hall of Records.[^15] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *William J. Brennan Jr.*, lead (revision 1372431656, retrieved 2026-10-26) — birth and death dates, years of service, rank by length of service, description of his place on the Court. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Brennan_Jr.> [^2]: Wikipedia contributors, *William J. Brennan Jr.*, lead (revision 1372431656, retrieved 2026-10-26) — recess appointment before the 1956 election, confirmation the following year, 1990 retirement, succession by Souter. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Brennan_Jr.> [^3]: Wikipedia contributors, *William J. Brennan Jr.*, "Supreme Court appointment" (revision 1372431656, retrieved 2026-10-26) — October 15, 1956 recess appointment, swearing-in, party affiliations, Spellman request, Eisenhower's three criteria. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Brennan_Jr.> [^4]: Wikipedia contributors, *William J. Brennan Jr.*, lead (revision 1372431656, retrieved 2026-10-26) — assessment of his influence and Scalia's statement. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Brennan_Jr.> [^5]: Wikipedia contributors, *William J. Brennan Jr.*, "Early life and education" (revision 1372431656, retrieved 2026-10-26) — birth, parents, father's occupation and Newark post. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Brennan_Jr.> [^6]: Wikipedia contributors, *William J. Brennan Jr.*, "Early life and education" (revision 1372431656, retrieved 2026-10-26) — high school, University of Pennsylvania and Wharton degree, Harvard Law School degree. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Brennan_Jr.> [^7]: Wikipedia contributors, *William J. Brennan Jr.*, "Early life and education" (revision 1372431656, retrieved 2026-10-26) — marriage and children. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Brennan_Jr.> [^8]: Wikipedia contributors, *William J. Brennan Jr.*, "Early legal career and military service" (revision 1372431656, retrieved 2026-10-26) — Pitney Hardin practice, Army commission and service, Legion of Merit, Undersecretary of War staff. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Brennan_Jr.> [^9]: Wikipedia contributors, *William J. Brennan Jr.*, "Early legal career and military service" (revision 1372431656, retrieved 2026-10-26) — 1949 Superior Court and 1951 New Jersey Supreme Court appointments by Governor Driscoll. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Brennan_Jr.> [^10]: Wikipedia contributors, *William J. Brennan Jr.*, "Supreme Court appointment" (revision 1372431656, retrieved 2026-10-26) — January 14, 1957 nomination, opposition, hearing, confirmation vote. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Brennan_Jr.> [^11]: Wikipedia contributors, *William J. Brennan Jr.*, lead (revision 1372431656, retrieved 2026-10-26) — stated positions, death-penalty dissents, authored opinions. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Brennan_Jr.> [^12]: Wikipedia contributors, *William J. Brennan Jr.*, "Later life and death" (revision 1372431656, retrieved 2026-10-26) — reason for retirement, relationship with Souter, Brennan Center for Justice. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Brennan_Jr.> [^13]: Wikipedia contributors, *William J. Brennan Jr.*, "Later life and death" (revision 1372431656, retrieved 2026-10-26) — 1996 injury, death on July 24, 1997, burial at Arlington. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Brennan_Jr.> [^14]: Wikipedia contributors, *William J. Brennan Jr.*, "Honors and awards" (revision 1372431656, retrieved 2026-10-26) — Laetare Medal, Heinz Award, courthouse renaming, Freedom Medal, Presidential Medal of Freedom. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Brennan_Jr.> [^15]: Wikipedia contributors, *William J. Brennan Jr.*, "Honors and awards" (revision 1372431656, retrieved 2026-10-26) — lying in repose, 2010 honors, Newark park and statue. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Brennan_Jr.>