During his first day of grilling by the Senate Judiciary Committee, John Roberts mentioned the case of Hague v. CIO, which I hadn’t read since law school. I went back to take a look at it. “Boss” Hague in Jersey City had banned the meeting of “communist” labor unions. The Supreme Court struck down the ordinance as violative of the First Amendment.
Here’s from Justice Stone’s concurrence:
No more grave and important issue can be brought to this Court than that of freedom of speech and assembly, which the due process clause guarantees to all persons regardless of their citizenship …
On a related note, a whole lot of people were frustrated by Sen. Joseph Biden’s haranguing of Judge Roberts during the first day of questions. While I was put off by his inappropriate tone, I will defend the role the opposition plays in forcing a candidate to show he is worthy for the job. Watching Roberts listen politely and in clear and precise language respond to Biden’s rantings made me more confident in his ability to conduct himself as Chief Justice.