OSHER 842 - The Rehnquist Court, 1986 - 2005: Moves Toward Small Federal Government

Chief Justice William Rehnquist presided over the U.S. Supreme Court for almost nineteen years (September 1986 -- September 2005), and during that time the Court heard cases on important issues like privacy, civil rights, the environment, the First Amendment, and state's rights. Overseeing a group of justices appointed by eight different Presidents, the Rehnquist Court used its judicial power to actively invalidate federal statutes and precedent, yielding conservative results. However, as the composition of the Rehnquist Court changed, the Court's conservative decisions lessoned in some areas. This course will discuss the Rehnquist Court, as well as his 15 years as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court under Chief Justice Burger. We will discuss cases Woodson v. North Carolina (1976), Craig v. Boren (1978), Miller v. Johnson (1995), Bush v. Gore (2000), Atkins v. Virginia (2001), Lawrence v. Texas (2002), and many more.