Mr. Justice Holmes The American Mercury , May 1930 A Review of The Dissenting Opinions of Mr. Justice Holmes
arranged by Alfred Lief, with a forward by George W. Kirchwey
Mr. Justice Holmes's dissenting opinions have got so much fawning praise from liberals that it is somewhat surprising to discover that Mr. Lief is able to muster but fifty-five of them, and even more surprising to hear from Dr. Kirchwey that in only one case did the learned justice stand quite alone, and that the cases "in which he has given expression to the judgement of the court, [sic] or in which he has concurred in its judgement, far outnumber, in the ratio of eight or ten to one, those in which he felt it necessary to dissent." There is even more surprising stuff in the opinions themselves. In three Espionage Act cases, including the Debs case, one finds a clear statement of the doctrine that, in war time, the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment cease to have any substance, and may be set aside by any jury that has been sufficiently alarmed by a district attorney itching for higher office. In Fox v. the State of Washington | |
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