The Dispute Index

William H. Rehnquist

Portrait of William H. Rehnquist
Robert S. Oakes, Library of CongressSourcePublic domain: U.S. federal government work

William H. Rehnquist was chief justice of the United States from 1986 until his death in 2005. He previously served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court from 1972 to 1986.

Also known as William RehnquistWebsite (opens in a new tab)

What DI has documented

DI has documented statements by William H. Rehnquist on Free Speech, Press Freedom, and Privacy. Read the quotations, original sources and related cases below.

Topics in this coverage

Statements by William H. Rehnquist

Portrait of William H. Rehnquist

William H. Rehnquist

Role at the time: Chief justice writing in dissent, joined by Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas

Condemned

Statement summary

Rehnquist argues that the Constitution should not protect the involuntary broadcast of personal conversations.

“The Constitution should not protect the involuntary broadcast of personal conversations.”
Read the original text (opens in a new tab)Supreme Court opinions in Bartnicki v. Vopper · Supreme Court of the United States532 U.S. 514, majority 524-535; concurrence 535-541; dissent 541 onward
Why we used this label

The case concerns publishing the intercepted call, not whether the wiretap law is desirable. Rehnquist expressly rejects constitutional protection for the involuntary broadcast and argues against the publication protected by the majority.

Read statementBartnicki v. Vopper: justices split over publishing an illegally intercepted call

A participant is a subject of the case. A speaker has a statement documented in it. A commentator has an opinion or editorial documented in it.