Question

Students will write an essay comparing and contrasting the approaches to criminal procedure by the U.S. Supreme Court under both Chief Justices Earl Warren and William Rehnquist. The essay should focus on their significant decisions and the effects they had on the balance between social order maintenance and individual liberties. The essay should address the effects of the Supreme Court’s decisions on law enforcement in the United States. Discuss the Supreme Court’s current approach to balancing civil liberties against public order maintenance.

Answer 1

Chief Justices Earl Warren and William Rehnquist :

• They both are called as the head and tail of the same coin. They had very different views on balancing of individual liberties and social order maintenance when ruling on criminal procedure.
• Both these men during their tenure as Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court had landmark cases which had significant effects on individual rights, liberties and law enforcement standard operating procedure.
• Through their decisions and rulings in these different cases you can see that these men were polar opposites.
• Chief Justice Earl Warren in his decisions took a more “liberal” route on the subject, while Chief Justice William Rehnquist took the more “conservative” route.