European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 13, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 the stars and stripes wednesday. August 13, 1986 columns Anthony Lewis Rehnquist insensitive to problems of minorities the Senate judiciary committee hear Ings have left to Pul it Ai a minimum an uncomfortable feeling about Justice William h. Rehnquist. When Candor would have been easy he was evasive. When a willingness to reflect on his past actions would have been disarming this usually disarming Man was Wood enly unreflective. Why that is the Puzzle. Here was a person of High intellect a judge known for directness of manner and Lack of pretentiousness. Why would he Fence Over questions of fact and offer denials take the question of his role in challenging or intimidating minority voters lined up Al polling places in Arizona in the 1960s. When he was nominated to the supreme court in 1971, Rehnquist denied that he had done any such challenging he stuck to the denial this time. Rut four witnesses now gave compelling testimony to the contrary by trial standards there was More than enough Evi Dence for a jury to disbelieve a Ahnquist s denials. The Best defense one can construct for him is an evasive technical one that he did question Black and hispanic voters at he polls but did so As a Volunteer Republican lawyer not As an official party surely Rehnquist could have yielded u Little on the Issue perhaps saying thai actions now seen As in permissibly racist were not so Clear in 1962, his failure to be More candid left an impression of insensitivity continuing insensitivity on racism. Then there was the business of the racial covenants in the deeds of his Homes. Many deeds contain restrictive covenants As Rehnquist s defenders argued. But his situation was not really to be passed off As typical. He was a supreme court Justice when he bought Tome Vermont property in 1974. The covenant was not in some subdivision document that he never saw. It was in his deed called to his attention in a lawyer s letter. And it was a crudely anti semitic restriction forbidding resale to members of the hebrew that Rehnquist did not recall it As he testified is very hard to believe. Some commentators have deplored the attention paid to these and other factual questions. The real Issue for Rich Nuisl s critics is his judicial philosophy they say Why did t the senators on the committee concentrate on that in questioning him of course n is True that Rehnquist s View of the Constitution is the real concern. It is a crabbed View when it comes to individual right. At heart i think he believes in a majoritarian system of government David Broder come to Tiili of it a tattle a Fehns ust i
