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Supreme Court — Part 21

109 pages · May 11, 2026 · Document date: Jun 18, 1957 · Broad topic: Civil Rights · Topic: Supreme Court · 109 pages OCR'd
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\ 4 oe ey 4 Bate’ paw } friendly to peopie who have 4; ‘py the Constitution and the Almost every Gay la ‘have been treated a new [Ete en investigations. diatribe against C] Ped one sweeping decision, it that eminent ‘ - thas opened the way to Com- nee, Now Mr,: Lawrence. suggests that the: judges of the Supreme Court: should be elected for limited periods rather than appointed for . for handing down decisions which do not appeal to Mr. ’ Lawrence. \ Iam not a lawyer and, \ therefore, not really qualified to address myself to the merits " of the cases in question but it seems to me that the very na- ture of an action before the Bupreme Court, or any other court, involves differences: of opinion and uncertainties re- garding legal questions and constitutional interpretations. all doubts have not been re- solved, Therefore, when a case } finally comes to the Supreme Court someone will be made unhappy,*One of the two liti- gants must lose the case. Now } Mr. Lawrence thinks that the Supreme Court decided wrong in some recent cases. Had the court decided the other way no doubt some other people, may- - be without access te a syn- dieated column, would have “oi { felt unhappy. Mr. Lawrence «4 | seems particularly. unhappy that the Court did not stick to old precedents. Of course if “the court would always be obliged to do that we’ would still have slavery and child Jabor in the Bnited States. Mr. Justice Harlan changed his mind in one case. Is that un Leonstitutional? All of the above only means that Mr. Lawrence is an lopinonated man who does not ‘understand the function of ‘the . ‘Supreme Court in a democratic society, but when he, as he does, suggests that Justices: Black and Frankfurter are, had “past associations” with ‘Communists, he is, in my opin- ‘fon, way off base, Freedom of ithe press, which is protected ‘Supreme Court, allows him write as he does but suc! Aancitul statement and ime ‘plications should not challenged. On the other hand it is really unnecessary to es fend elther the Court or thé Pe eee ssettaee = Mncthesa}! ; aicviduiel justices. Scribbiers Jtke Mr. Lawrence come and [Enea the Supreme Court my - u © Kotietielier 4 eealiteth alia daied emcee. § life. This is supposed to be the punishment of the judges Unless the Supreme Court exercises original jurisdiction, most of the cases have gone through lower courts and still Feo ding to David Supreme Court [eed the ‘effectiveness of | } munists, traitors, disloyal citi- ‘ Tens and crooks of all kinds in business and in labor—to “re- fuse to answer” any question 7; Which the witness arbitrarily i decides for himself is not “per- tinent” to a legislative purpose. For the most part as Mr. Lawrence says, the Supreme Court justices live in legal “vacuums.” They display a curious “unawareness” of the actual operations of Commu- = ; mist subversion: . - > During these perilous times, goes any man or group of men, Ea * charged with the terrible re- f sponsibility of decisions vital to the very life of our nation, have & moral right to live in any Kind of a “vacuum”, even if he can? Do we not have a right to expect -that our leaders, par- ticularly men appointed to high, . Nfe-time positions, accept the Fe Be SEBS BT TERRE _Tesponsibility to inform them-~ selves thoroughly on the “ac- tual operations of Communist subversion?” Particularly when | they are in a position to hand - * down decisions having a diréct | "bearing on whether Commim nism shall or shal not flourish . i ,our American system of fovermmentt — ‘D. Sonnemann ; eee 8 Some readers took ' David rence to task for his understanding of the Wor i jology.” t is obvious from Mr. La ce's column June 20 , rs Wa “Ab 3 Radical Liberalism.” rampage is eloquent the fact.. In this takes of on Chief. justice Warren, saying that “consistently follows the radical line.” In most dictionaries and ‘in Most minds the word “redical” Tefers to the advocacy of ex- treme measures and, to use the Vefinttion in Webster's Col- leglate Dictionary, advocacy of “sweeping changes in laws.” Justice Warren's whole career, including his present. service on the Supreme Court, has ex- emplifted anything but radical- ism. He is a moderate, middle- of-the-read individual, some- times Ifberal, sometimes con- servative, a .Mr. Lawrence has what what might be characterized as ao “mote” in his mind. For a number of years now he has been running and rerunning an editorial in his U, 8, News & World Report entitled, “Conservative Liberalism ‘vs, Not once does he ever go into the possi- | bility that there also may be a form of “radical conservatiam.” That is Mr. Lawrence's mote, if not his myopia, There are courses in m f the local universities emantics J am sure. My ad Mr. Lawrence: A refre Curse, r Walter B. Smalley Wash. Post and Tele. Room —_ Times Herald Wash. News Wash. Star so N. Y. Herald Tribune N, Y. Journal- t a American atta . : w + bie ers his _ WM. 1. MIfTOE ' N. Y. Daily News N, Y. Times 1La- aes p Daily Worker The Worker eos RECORDED New Leader 44 JUL 83 1957 —_ —— ae Date awe OS yl om LF
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