Warren E. Burger - Retirement, Death and Legacy

Retirement, Death and Legacy

Burger retired on September 26, 1986, in part to lead the campaign to mark the 1987 bicentennial of the United States Constitution, at which time he commissioned the construction of the Constitution Bicentennial Monument (The National Monument to the U.S. Constitution). He had served longer than any other Chief Justice appointed in the 20th century. In 1987, Princeton University's American Whig-Cliosophic Society awarded Burger the James Madison Award for Distinguished Public Service. In 1988, he was awarded the prestigious United States Military Academy's Sylvanus Thayer Award as well as the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Burger died in 1995 of congestive heart failure at the age of 87 in Washington, D.C. He drafted his own one-page will. All of his papers were donated to the College of William and Mary, where he formerly served as Chancellor; however, they will not be open to the public until 2026. Burger’s casket was displayed in the Great Hall of the U.S. Supreme Court Building. His remains are interred at Arlington National Cemetery.

As Chief Justice, Burger was instrumental in founding the Supreme Court Historical Society and was its first president. Burger is often cited as one of the foundational proponents of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), particularly in its ability to ameliorate an overloaded justice system. In a speech given in front of the American Bar Association, Justice Burger lamented the state of the justice system in 1984, "Our system is too costly, too painful, too destructive, too inefficient for a truly civilized people. To rely on the adversary process as the principal means of resolving conflicting claims is a mistake that must be corrected." The Warren E. Burger Federal Courthouse in St. Paul, Minnesota and the Warren E. Burger Library at his alma mater William Mitchell College of Law are named in his honor.