Vanderbilt Law Review Volume 62 | Issue 2 Article 11 3-2009 Pierce Butler: A Supreme Technician David R. Stras Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/vlr Part of the Constitutional Law Commons, and the Fourteenth Amendment Commons Recommended Citation David R. Stras, Pierce Butler: A Supreme Technician, 62 Vanderbilt Law Review 695 (2019) Available at: https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/vlr/vol62/iss2/11 This Symposium is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Vanderbilt Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Vanderbilt Law Review by an authorized editor of Scholarship@Vanderbilt Law. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Pierce Butler: A Supreme Technician David R. Stras* IN TRO D U CTION ............................................................................... 695 I. THE EARLY Y EARS ............................................................... 697 II. A RISING LEGAL STAR ......................................................... 702 III. A DIFFICULT CONFIRMATION ............................................... 708 IV. BUTLER'S JURISPRUDENCE .................................................. 717 A. A ConstitutionalReassessment ................................ 719 1. The Rights of Criminal Defendants ............. 721 2. The Fourteenth Amendment ........................ 725 B. A Judicial Minimalist and Deeply Private Man .....732 C. A Technical Justice .................................................. 737 1. Public Utilities Regulation ..........................