The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-10-15

WOoAAAhHbpAt1 OGtN kOt-WnGtklGk the supreme courts prestige hes suffered because of the courts ac- quisition of Hugo Black, who now seems firmly planted in his new seat presumably iS Q most important question.
 Opponents of Mir. Roosevelt, near- ly all of whom have vociferously protested Blacks appearance as the newest justice, are insistent that the Alabaman's presence there haa given the court Q terrible black eye and lowered public respect for the previously sanctihed processes oi justice.
 Whatever the truth or error of
 this conception, it seems especlal- ly interesting to those here who recall that early In Che year the New Dealers were frankly saying although not for quOtatl0n-that
 they did hope Co crack the sue premo courts prestige t0 . point where the people would lose faith In its infallibiIlty and where par. llamentaFy government, meaning congress, would be supreme.
 So If you believe the opposition 1t appears that the New Dealers won . victory there, although they certainly are not hoastlng Of 1t on the same basis.
 Prospect of Retaliation
 Many lawyers are inclined to be- lieve that, after the Black expose and resultant hue and cry, 1t may hereafter become perfectly good taste In polite society to talk about the personal backgrounds and theo- rotioal prejudiceS of some of It's other members. At any rate, word comes from the inside that there will be further administration pro- pAganda efforts.
 Any attempts to dlsQuallfy Black from sitting In individual cases are likely to be met with at. taoks on Justice Pierce Butler and Justice Owen ]. Roberts. Butler was an outstanding railroad law. yer and among hls clients was the Great Northern Railway.
 Az c justice, however, he did not refrain from writing far-reaching opinions on public utility valuation standards, and last year ho read an opinion which saved tho Great Northern Si0,000,000 in taxes which had been assessed by North Dakota.
 Roberts, Hughes and Van De- Nanter, who concurred with Butter, had all represented railroads in private practice. Roberts, o former director of tho Bell Telephone Byss tom, did not refrain from giving c decision which held up tho rates of tho subsidiary Chesapeake 6 Potomac company above those de- clared fair by the Maryland Pub- iic Service Commission.
 Court Will Survive
 On tho other hand, it iS not to Do inferred that justices necessarily have Q bias in favor Of former clients. They merely fail to "Sit out" whom former clients bring eases, as Justice BrandeB did ct the time of tho adverse minimum wage de- Clsion of 1928, because h0 himself had been active for minimum wage legiSlation.
 In January, 1895, Hughes, who once represented Standard OH ins tOrcsts, upheld . West Virginia chain store tax on filling stations which standard oil of Now Jers scy contested.
 But the court doesn't like to Do told that any justice isn't quail. fed to sit in . particular case, and that's one reason for guessing that such tactics against Black went get for. Another reason is that it1 the V'risEell. ll.Newman case which Hughes cited In denying Albert IeVltt'S petition against Black, the court held that only public repre- sei,tatlVes such as the attorney gen- eral could bring court proceedings conteSting c public ofsiciaiS right to hold ofiice.
 otherwise, sald the court, every private Cltisen would have tho privilege Of bringing such pr0ceeds Ings "and . public officer might from the beginning t0 the end 0E hls term Do harassod with pres Ceedlngs to try his title"
 Tho courts prestige doubtless will survive ia the long run, al- though its Liberalization" pre- Sumably will lead to invaiidation Of fewer federal and state iaws. Eoopyright, 1887, NEA Service, Incl