I.

Introduction

Earl Warren (1891-1974), American jurist and political leader, best known as the chief justice who led the United States Supreme Court in making sweeping changes in civil rights laws and in criminal procedures.

Warren was born in Los Angeles, on March 19, 1891, and educated at the University of California. Admitted to the bar in 1914, he practiced law in the San Francisco area and held various offices in local government, including three terms as district attorney of Alameda County.

II.

Political Career

Warren, a liberal Republican, was elected attorney general of California in 1938. During his four years in office, he increased his reputation as a strong foe of racketeers. In 1942 he was elected governor of California. His progressive policies won him wide support in both the Republican and Democratic parties; in 1946, and again in 1950, he was reelected governor with bipartisan support. As governor, he reduced taxes while expanding state services. Warren lost an election only once, when in 1948 he was the Republican candidate for vice president in the unsuccessful presidential campaign of Thomas E. Dewey.

III.

Supreme Court Years

In 1953 President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Warren as 14th chief justice of the U.S. He served on the bench until his retirement in 1969, presiding over the generally liberal “Warren Court.” Many decisions of great consequence were handed down during his tenure as chief justice, especially in the areas of civil rights, religious freedom, and censorship. Warren was concerned with upholding the rights of the individual, a concern that was reflected in numerous Court decisions.

In 1954 the court reached a landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, declaring unconstitutional racial segregation in public schools. Warren stated in his opinion that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.” The ruling was later extended to areas such as public transportation.

Another major decision came in 1966 in Miranda v. State of Arizona. The Court ruled that criminal suspects had to be informed of their rights, including the right to remain silent and the right to counsel, before questioning. The Miranda decision was one of many Warren court rulings to protect the rights of the accused.

Other decisions reached during Warren's years on the Court dealt with legislative apportionment, the basic rights of citizenship, and limitation of the use of libel laws. His judicial performance won him both praise and criticism.

In 1963 Warren headed the commission formed to investigate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The commission's findings that there was a single assassin and no evidence of a conspiracy were published in the Warren Report. Warren died July 9, 1974, in Washington, D.C.

See also Civil Rights and Civil Liberties; Supreme Court of the United States.