Russ Feingold: “last week this Nation lost a true American hero with the passing of former Supreme Court Justice William Brennan. The…”

“last week this Nation lost a true American hero with the passing of former Supreme Court Justice William Brennan. The contributions of William Brennan to our democratic way of life are many and will continue, long after his passing, to touch the lives of people all across this Nation in the most important and fundamental ways. Always a staunch and unrelenting defender of individual liberty, William Brennan helped to preserve many important rights that each of us, as Americans, enjoy today. He fought relentlessly to preserve the right to vote, the right to free expression, and the right to be treated as an equal with your fellow citizens. His legacy is one that honors the fundamental notion that in America, the individual truly does matter. In terms of length of service on the Supreme Court and number of opinions written, William Brennan ranks near the top. However, to reduce his career to these simple numbers is to diminish the scope and importance of William Brennan in shaping this Nation's constitutional law.”