Movie Reviews : A Look at ‘Super Chief’ Justice Warren’s World

It seems long overdue that a documentary film be made on the remarkable career of Earl Warren who presided over the United States Supreme Court spanning the terms of four presidents, from 1954 to 1969. Even if the Warren Court had not handed down some of American history’s most controversial decisions--ranging from integration of public schools to voting rights to the rights of the accused--Warren’s service in public life would still be a rarity; he was a public servant about whom nary a blemish of compromise or taint could be uncovered.

That, at least, is the position of “Super Chief--The Life and Legacy of Earl Warren,” a quality examination of Warren’s career by producers Bill Jersey and Judith Leonard, with the comforting, authoritative narration of Gregory Peck. The producers do not go easy on Warren, however. They give voice to many of his most severe critics and utilize footage of the torrent of anti-Warren emotions that swept the nation in the wake of the high court’s major decisions.

News reel clips show former Arkansas governor Orval Faubus attacking the Warren Court’s 1954 Brown vs. the Board of Education decision which declared that “separate but equal” public schools were unconstitutional. There is footage of conservatives Lino Graglia, a law professor at the University of Texas Law School, and of retired circuit judge Robert Bork (a one-time Supreme Court nominee) voicing their objections to Warren Court decisions. Bork is particularly offended by the court’s ruling on reapportionment, known as “one-person, one vote,” that shifted political power in many states from rural districts to urban ones.

Perhaps the most telling example of Warren’s consistency was the case of his own father’s murder in Bakersfield. When Warren, then California Attorney General, learned that the accused man had not been apprised of his rights, he dropped all interest in the case and the man was released. It wasn’t surprising that in the ‘60s the Warren Court handed down the controversial Miranda decision, outlining the rights of the accused.