Tribute to Justice Byron R. White.

• Author: Rehnquist, William H.

One's first impression of Byron White--a crushing handshake, a somewhat gruff manner, and a reluctance to talk about his past accomplishments--would have given no hint that he was even a lawyer, say nothing of a Supreme Court Justice. But a Justice he was, for more than thirty years, and a major contributor to the Court's work during that time.

He did not fit readily into any ideological mould. An important skein in his jurisprudence was deference to the popularly elected organs of government. Another was an insistence that a large dose of common sense be applied in the...