Papers Offer Close-Up of Rehnquist and the Court

By ADAM LIPTAK and JONATHAN D. GLATER

STANFORD, Calif. — Not long after he arrived at the Supreme Court in 1972 after three years in the Nixon administration, Justice William H. Rehnquist faced stinging criticism for participating in a decision dismissing a challenge to Army surveillance of domestic political groups in the Vietnam War era.

He had voted with the majority in the 5-to-4 decision, issued that June, after giving Senate testimony as a Justice Department official defending the spying and criticizing the suit.

That summer, Justice Rehnquist struggled with whether he should publicly explain his decision to remain on the case. The materials on the surveillance suit, filled with emotion, calculation and even anguish, were released on Monday by the Hoover Institution, along with court files covering Justice Rehnquist’s first three years on the court and other materials.