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26 Harv. C.R.-C.L. L. Rev. 7 (1991)
Mr. Justice Brennan-An Appreciation

handle is hein.journals/hcrcl26 and id is 13 raw text is: MR. JUSTICE BRENNAN-AN APPRECIATION Richard S. Arnold* This year, William J. Brennan, Jr. retired after thirty-four full terms as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Superlatives, including remarkable tributes from the Pres- ident and from Justice Brennan's successor, Associate Justice David H. Souter, have poured in. The Brennan role in securing the distinctly American heritage of individual liberty is universally acknowledged. Partly because of his length of service, but by no means for that reason alone, Justice Brennan's place and reputa- tion in the constitutional history of this country are as secure as those of Chief Justice John Marshall. In the context of this chorus of appreciation, it seems almost presumptuous for a judge of what the Framers in their patronizing way referred to as an inferior court to express his thoughts. But I have been an admirer of the Justice for more than thirty years; his law clerk for one term of Court-maybe the best job I ever had; and a consumer of his legal product during my twelve years on the bench. So perhaps I can add a few thoughts about the career and contributions of a judge who is surely among that select group that deserves to be called great. No doubt others will survey in broad scope Justice Brennan's jurisprudence. A whole shelf of books would be needed to describe adequately, let alone evaluate, how the Justice's work has shaped and enhanced the American way of life. My own small contribution will be on a much more modest scale: a short series of observations brought to mind, mostly by a single opinion, and that one not even an opinion of the Court. It may seem strange to the reader that I have selected a dissent-written, necessarily, in a case in which Justice Brennan was on the losing side-as my text. But as those who work on or are familiar with multi-judge courts know, separate opinions, either dissents or concurrences, reveal a great deal about the judicial personality.' By contrast, an opinion of the Court is * United States Circuit Judge for the Eighth Circuit. Law Clerk to Mr. Justice Brennan, October Term 1960. 'See Brennan, In Defense of Dissents, 37 HASTINGS L.J. 427 (1986).

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