Hey Justin –
I will take a re-peek at the Dennis case. But I believe Black (and
Douglas) were strongly against it. I believe Rutledge and Murphy were
replaced by conservative Democrats. And Frankfurter and Jackson were a
kind of reverse of what Eisenhower felt about Warren and Brennan.
I guess it’s really all moot, but if you also enjoy this kind of thing
(as I do), what the hell...
Myself, I’d be more inclined to say that Warren and Brennan signed onto
the Black-Douglas train – in particular, their efforts against “loyalty”
initiatives.
Black-Douglas had long aimed to give First Amendment protection to even
those “unworthies.” The Court, as an entity, resisted their dynamic-duo
efforts. In Yolanda Yate’s case, Black made his famous sarcastic shot
against the prosecution’s “evidence” – “proof here is sufficient if Marx
and Lenin are on trial.”
But they began to get their way (on this issue) with the disappearance
of a Vinson, Jackson (Nuremberg prosecutor), Minton, and the advent, as
you note, of Warren and Brennan.
Douglas wrote about that sea change in his book Court Years: “The Court
began to swerve its course and act to protect the rights of the people
by limiting the thrust of the anti-subversive program. The arrival of
Earl Warren made part of the difference.”
There were other cases before that, where the trend was being given
inertia. Like Jones v. Opelika in 1943. Douglas, Black and Murphy joined
with Stone, and when Rutledge replaced Byrnes, the mandatory flag
saluting crap was overturned.
That was a Jehovah’s Witness case, btw. The Jehovah’s unflagging
obnoxiousness also helped clarify some fundamental issues in Canada with
the case of Roncarelli v. Duplessis.
In the 1940s, the JW’s were also irritating the Catholic majority of
Quebec – going to their door and politely telling them they were all
going to hell. Maurice Duplessis was premier of Quebec – and he ruled
through a triad of reactionary Francophone nationalism, Church authority
and big business alliances. Duplessis reacted to public and Church
pressure to target the JW’s. Roncarelli was some Montreal restaurateur
(if I recall) who had the money to keep bailing JW’s out when arrested.
Duplessis finally ordered a public servant to withdraw Roncarelli’s
liquor licence “forever.” Justice Rand wrote the opinion, drawing on
Marbury v. Madison and Edward Coke et al.
Anyway...
So, I won’t disagree with you if you want to put a historical marker at
Warren. I would put it with Douglas and Black, but it doesn't really
matter. It wasn’t a case of “Heeeeeeeeeere’s Earl!” – and poof it all
changed. (I'm not saying you actually said that.)
Ken.
--
We have no reliance
On virgin or pigeon;
Our method is science,
Our aim is religion.
-- Aleister Crowley
>Actually, no. Roosevelt tried to pack the court, and
>failed. One of the former bad guy justices switched
>his view and started supporting the New Deal. The
>Roosevelt era court mainly supported expanded govt
>power to regulate business, not primarily enhanced
>free speech and civil rights. Its most notably free
>speech decision was probably US v. Dennis (1948),
>upholding the conviction of the CPUSA leaders for
>conspiracy to advocate the overthrow of the govt. The
>real civil libertarian court was the Warren Court,
>whose key members were Warren and Brennan, appointed
>by Eisenhower, and Goldberg, Fortas, and Marshall,
>appointed by Kennedy and Johnson. The one right thing
>you say here is that the Warren Court era is over. jks
>
>--- Kenneth Campbell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>> >JKS writes:>I'd be proud to defend the First
>> >Amendment ina NAzi case too.<
>> >
>> >if the gov't cracks down on the Nazis, they crack
>> down on
>> >the Left, too, most often in a bigger way. A first
>> >amendment defense of the Nazis is indirectly
>> >defending the Left.
>>
>> Elementary, my dear Mr. Devine. :)
>>
>> You know, FDR packed the Supreme Court down there
>> and that was a huge
>> influence felt in the social fabric of US lives for
>> decades... an
>> influence which is now waning.
>>
>> But all that "free speech" stuff, and the finding of
>> a right to privacy
>> "in the penumbra" of other rights... leading to Roe
>> v Wade... that came
>> through those hired-guns from the FDR and
>> Brandeis-Holmes era.
>>
>> You should definitely support your local loon Nazi's
>> right to smoke
>> tobacco.
>>
>> Ken.
>>
>> --
>> The Olden Days, alas, are turned to clay.
>> -- Ishtar, at the Deluge
>
>
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