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56 Syracuse L. Rev. 407 (2005-2006)
The Chief and US: Chief Justice William Rehnquist, the News Media, and the Need for Dialogue between Judges and Journalists

handle is hein.journals/syrlr56 and id is 417 raw text is: THE CHIEF AND US: CHIEF JUSTICE WILLIAM REHNQUIST, THE NEWS MEDIA, AND THE NEED FOR DIALOGUE BETWEEN JUDGES AND JOURNALISTS Tony Maurot The death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist on September 3, 2005, brought to mind a number of memories of this unpretentious and interesting man from my twenty-five years of covering the Supreme Court. He was a brilliant and modest jurist who loved the Supreme Court and loved history but did not, I am fairly sure, love the news media. In the few dealings he had with the reporters who covered the Court, he was courteous and even patient, but he viewed us as something of a distraction, not essential in any way to the functioning of the Supreme Court that he loved. In this article I will mention some of my recollections, hopefully not in the manner of a self-important memoir that is more about me than about him. Rather, the point of my anecdotes will be to illustrate some larger themes about the relationship, such as it is, between journalists and judges-primarily at the Supreme Court, but by analogy at courts throughout the country. It is often a wary relationship, but it is a necessary and unavoidable one-and it could stand improvement, for the benefit of the judiciary and of legal journalism as well. One quick illustration of the gulf between judges and the journalists who cover them is something the Chief Justice told several of us reporters over the years concerning one of the biggest problems we journalists face in covering the Court. In the natural rhythm of the Supreme Court's work, June is crunch time, when the Justices start cranking out sometimes long- pending opinions in advance of adjournment at the end of the month. Often, the most contentious-and therefore, usually the most t Tony Mauro has covered the Supreme Court for twenty-five years, first for Gannett News Service and USA TODAY, and since 2000 for Legal Times, American Lawyer Media and law.com. He is the author of Illustrated Great Decisions of the Supreme Court, published by CQ Press in 2000, and published in its second edition by CQ Press in December 2005.

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