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. ate a ‘ rae Pret ‘SUPREME COURT REFUSES~REVIEY OF CALIFORNIA VAGRANCY Lat The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to review a test case brought by ‘ACLU O: ‘test a California vagrancy law that defines a vagrant asa "dissolute person". - The - high court's action was. based on a procedural point. a Ts . The case involved Isidore Edelman, a Los Angeles political, economic,’ and, religious orator in Pershing Square, who was arrested in September, 1949, on a com om plaint under the vagrancy statute. This statute imposes-a fine and/or /or imprisomuent. for an "idle. or lewd, or dissolute person", The jury returned a verdict of guilty., after having been charged by the judge to consider Edelman as "dissolute! if they’ -. found him to be a lawless person on the basis of his having begged, or indulged in : indecent conduct, or used slanderous, vulgar, and profane language, °: De eS The ACLU Southern California affiliate argued before the Supreme Court that”: ‘the law is loose, uncertain, and vague, and therefore unconstitutional, But Mr, Justice Clark, writing the 7-2 majority opinion, held thet this defense had not been raised early enough, appearing for the first time on appeal, He contended that dis- missal of the appeal by the California Supreme Court could have rested on adequate.” state grounds, not involving the federal constitution. Justice Clark suggested,” however, that a writ of habeas corpus might now be file of the state law, - : : to test the constitutionalit ‘ « on Justices Black and Douglas dissented, contending that the refusal of the - = Appellate Court of California to reviow was in itself a denial of due process of: law, Pointing out that_the legislation was obviously unconstitutional, Justice Black.) “2! } insisted that "courts should be astute to examine and strike down dragnet legislation used to abridge public discussion’#4, pointing to the fact that the major reason:-for Edelman's conviction was the content of speeches he had delivered in public. . BOOK NOTES _ ea Cornell University Press, This is another contribution to the excellent series published under the title, "The Cornell Studies in Civil Liberty", made possible through a grant of the Roc feller Foundation, . : cas THE HOUSE UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES COMMITTEE by Professor Robert K, Carr, 489 pages, Prof, Carr traces the history of this controversial House committee since 4 became a permanent group in 1945, Examined against a general beckground of Congidesy) and the campaign against subversion, the areas covered are the committec!s personnel staff, publications, the press! treatment of its work, and court review of its ~* activities. The book ends with an evaluation by Prof. Carr of the committee's re e “ +e tak eee zit BY STATUTE by Morroc Berger, with a foreward by Robert Maclver, 238 published by the Columbia University Press. - ee pages : A valuable contribution to the literature on the problem of discrimination as ' segrcgation. The author compares civil rights today and during the Reconstruction : ---- --Period and discusses the role of the Supreme Court in two_periods, 1868-1937 and’ 1937-1950, in meeting this issue, Onc chapter is devoted to an analysis of the: New York State Law against Discrimination; there is also a gencral discussion ‘o ~ control ef prejudice through law , yp BR ET tor at. @ . ee 5 week yp Oye - ~