Criminal Prosecution and the Supreme Court

Archive Report

Controversial Decisions of the High Court

The supreme court has been the center of more widespread public interest and more controversy in recent months than at any time since the mid-1930s. In a continuing series of cases, decided with few or no dissenting votes, the Court has repeatedly sustained individual rights against infringement by federal or state measures designed to combat subversion or to aid in prosecution of suspected criminals.1 Restraints laid on law enforcement officers and investigating agencies were dramatized last June 17 when, on a single decision day, three controversial rulings were handed down. Judgments so far rendered in the 1957–58 court term indicate no change in the general libertarian trend.

The decisions in question have subjected the high tribunal to sharp criticism from ...

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