◆ SpookStack

{ concerning the loyalty of any | ‘ees causing damage to the na- —_——— O-19 (Rew. 9-7-56) Today in National Affairs | Questions Asked on Writing Of Supreme Court Opinions y DAV PoP, By DAVID LAWRENCE WASHINGTON, June 24.—Who really writes the decisions; of the Supreme Court Justices? Do they use “ghost writers,” as} Presidents occasionally do? Should the public be told what part of a decision is actually written by a Justice and what part is . derft'Was presented at commis- sion conferences tending to in- dicate’ that there ever was any judge on the bench anywhere in the Federal courts who was thus imposed upon. . | It wilt be news to many pecple ‘that the Supreme Court Justices are dependent to some extent on their law clerks in writing their opinons. For years it has been an open secret around Washing- ‘ton that the big Eastern law Nease. ¥- the composition of his law clerk? Is this a part of the “right to know” privilege which the press has been insisting on lately? These questions have arisen not only be- cause of the occasional expressions and phras- ing which appear in Supreme Court opinions that seem conspicuously different from the accustomed writings of a Justice in his pre- vious career, but because the whole ‘subject has just been opened up by the Conimission on Government Security, This commission of twelve prominent citizens, appointed by the President and by the Senate and the House, issued last week @ recommendation that hereafter the judicial | branch of the government should “take ef- fective steps to insure that its employees are loyal and otherwisa suitable from the stand-~- point of national security.” Can. it be that the commission was think- ing about Alger Hiss, who served in the 1930s as a law clerk to a | Supreme Court Justice now dead? There were sald to be discus- |;sions about this and its implications among the members of the commission before it reached its gonclusions, -commission says in its formal geport: “It is fundamental that therey should be no reasonable doubt rq@commends, Federal employee in any of the three branches of the govern- ment. In the judicial branch, the possibilities of disloyal employ- ive branch uate investi jHonal security are ever present. 'As an example, Federal judges, busy with the ever-crowded lcourt ¢.lendars, must rely upon assistants to prepare briefing papers for them. AA fe Bee btn a5€0 InOrminarion J inadvertently reflected in court fh, opinions in crucial security, constitutional, governmental or{* tance could cause severe effects social issues of national impor- to the nation's security and to our Federal loyalty-security sys- tem generally, “There appears to be no valid reason why an émployee of the judicial branch should not be screened, at least as to his basic loyalty to the United States, ‘Certainly the judiciary proper and the public generally should have the assurance that the men and women who carry the | administrative responsibilities of the courts or assist in the prep- aration of decisions are lovel JGSpertranr Americal’: an ALE _ | ‘The commission therelre the legislative branch, that the judicial branch and the execu- ut a program under which ade- ng can be provided for all ju- dicial employees.” « One member of the commis- sion on security recorded a “vi- gqpous dissent”. on this ph the problem. He is James{P. Grannery, formerly a Fedefal, pee and later Attorney Gqu- lin the Truman Administ!,- ion. He writes that “no evi- a fanaticism, some of the law-: ' jschool professors engage in ac- ,tive campaigns to advance pub- ‘licly the views with which they! indoctrinate their students. ! The book on the Fifth Amend-: ment written by Dean Griswold of the Harvard Law School was exploited and widely distributed by the “Fund for the Republic.” In its annual report, the saine foundation admits that, out of the $5,000,000 it has already spent, much of it has been for distributing literature of this kind and other “educational” materials on the subject of “Communim” and Congressional investigations. What part do such so-called “liberal” law pro- fesors play in selecting law clerks for Supreme Court jus- tices? Maybe the Congress ought to appropriate enough money s90 that each Justice of the Su- preme Court would enjoy the bipartisan luxury of two s0o- called “liberal” and two so- called “conservative” law clerks. Maybe the Supreme Court opin- ions would be better balanced At least, they might accurate as to facts. pineaienientiinintena Ce ed a ed Lawrence Here is what 5 ne Lg ' as in the casq of endeavor to work gation or screen- la W opinion eriticizlhe Congressional investigations said that “in the decade following World War II, there appeared a new kind of Congresional in- quiry unknown in prior periods jof American history” and that (‘this new phase of legislative intyateytrfvolyed a =Stale : oO | ‘schools selected their top schol- Tele. Room -.~— |, ars for a year’s service as “law aa Holloman —______. jcierks” to Supreme Court jus- 2 a Gandy tices, Today, when so-called i. ree Peele go “liberalism” amounts almost to ‘ : intfusion into the lives and af- fairs of private citizens.” Just why it was not realized by some one who went over the manuscript that Representative Martin Dies, Democrat, conduct- ed for seven years—from 1938 to 1945—exactly the same kind of healings for the House Commf- ‘teegfon Un-American petivitgs as fyere conducted “in the deg- ade following World War IE" "1s somewhat puzzling. Did the law clerks fail to read anything about those seven years of the Digs Committee? What t Jugtices evidently need to worr| atput in connection with “la clarks" is not “security” b a - : ~ A racy. pa OY Sy a sl tte Wash. Post and Times Herald Wash. News Wash. Star N.Y. Herald oh 2 Tribune N.Y. Journal-____ American. . N.Y. Mirror ——W N. Y. Daily News —____ N, Y, Times Daily Worker The Worker New Leader ) Date __ YUN 2 5 <4 ate