William J. Brennan William J. Brennan Jr. was born on April 25, 1906 as the second of eight children. While he was born in New Jersey he actually graduated from the University of Pennsylvania at the age of twenty-two and graduated from Harvard University at the age of twenty-five (Supreme Court History). During his years as a college undergrad he married Marjorie Leonard and eventually had three children. WWII then happened, and Brennan served well becoming a Colonel and the recipient of the Legion of Merit award. After returning to private practice in the late 1940s, he was invited to join the Supreme Court and joined. He was offered the position by Governor Alfred E. Driscoll. In 1964 he was a part of the 1964 case New York Times v. Sullivan in which he sided with Sullivan saying that the press can only be found potentially libelous if there’s malicious intent behind the sharing of wrong information (Biography.com). Also he was a part of the 1970 Goldberg v Kelly case where the right of a hearing before welfare benefits can be cut. “Brennan also supported court rulings that supported Affirmative action programs, gender equality and a woman’s right to choose. An avowed Roman Catholic, Brennan nonetheless believed in the importance of a division between church and state”(Biography.com). Maybe his most famous case was the 1972 Furman v. Georgia case where he sided with Thurgood Marshall in that he was completely against the death penalty because he