Warren Earl Burger was an American attorney and jurist who served as the 15th chief justice of the United States from 1969 to 1986. Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Burger graduated from the St. Paul College of Law in 1931. He helped secure the Minnesota delegation's support for Dwight D. Eisenhower at the 1952 Republican National Convention. After Eisenhower won the 1952 presidential election, he appointed Burger to the position of Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Civil Division. In 1956, Eisenhower appointed Burger to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Burger served on this court until 1969 and became known as a critic of the Warren Court.
Official portrait, 1986
President Richard Nixon introduces Burger as his nominee for the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
Official portrait of Warren Burger
With Betty Ford between them, Chief Justice Burger swears in President Gerald Ford following the resignation of Richard Nixon on August 9, 1974
Chief Justice of the United States
The chief justice of the United States is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States and is the highest-ranking officer of the U.S. federal judiciary. Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution grants plenary power to the president of the United States to nominate, and, with the advice and consent of the United States Senate, appoint "Judges of the supreme Court", who serve until they die, resign, retire, or are impeached and convicted. The existence of a chief justice is only explicit in Article I, Section 3, Clause 6 which states that the chief justice shall preside over the impeachment trial of the president; this has occurred three times, for Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and for Donald Trump’s first impeachment.
Chief Justice of the United States
Chief Justices of the United States (Harper's Weekly, December 24, 1864)
Image: John Rutledge, by James Herring after John Trumbull
Image: Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson