Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1937-03-11
Jackson
Continued From First Page.)

events. O'Mahoney then remarked
that the justice who delivered the A.
A. A. decision (Justice Roberts, would
not be affected by the Presidents bill
No Guarantee, Jackson Admits.
YES" Jackson said, there is no
guarantee against things like that"
The Assistant Attorney General in
dictated he did not advocate abandon
ment of the amendment method, but
said he could speak for no one else.
Jackson denied that the sole re-
sponsibillty for the functioning of the
Supreme Court is on the justices and
that their independence requires that
a majority of them be let alone to
shape the institution as they will" He
told the committee the Supreme Court
cannot function without the periodic
aid of Congress. The failure of Con-
greSS to assume its responsibility for
the acts of the Supreme Court he de-
cried.
Jackson contended the Constitution
had left the Supreme Court with very
curtailed powers since it's size, it's
means of carrying on its Jurisdiction
and the enforcement of its decisions
were left to the other branches of the
Government.
1t is clear he said, that Congress
mas the power to see that the per-
sonnet Of the judicial system is ade-
quate, both with respect to number
and to neutrality of attitude. 1t is a
responsibility of Congress to see that
the court is an instrumentalitv of a
Just and constitutional government
and that it does not become an in
strumentality for the defeat of con-
stitutional government"
Congress Use Checks Sparingly.
- The Assistant Attorney General said
Congress had made sparing use of its
checks and balances against the court.
Only once, he said, had it tried i'm
parchment. Once it withdrew juris-
dlctlon of the court to hear a case.
Three times constitutional amend
ments had been adopted to correct
the court. And six times the size
of the court had been changed, with
resulting changes in the courts atti-
tude.
Changing the size of the court"
said Jackson, has never deprived it
OF independence or prestige"
He said it was obvious that the
founding of the Government that
changes in the size of the court
would be made at times when its de-
ciSions caused dissatisfaction. The
first time the size of the court was
changed occurred when President
Adams put through Congress the
midnight judges" law just before
Jefferson took Office. This change was
reduction from six to five. Cushing
was not expected to live and it was
= thought by this device to prevent
Jefferson from appointing a successor.
The number was restored to six in
1oo2 and raised to seven in 1907,
enabling Jefferson to appoint two
justices The comments in the news
papers Of the day, Jackson said. read
like the comments in the newspapers
this morning. One paper said by
this vote the Constitution has received
3 wound it cannot long survive"
Other changes in the size of the
court, Jackson said, were made during
the "Jacksonian revolution" during
= the Lincoln administration, Johnson's
administration and the Grant ad-
ministration. In each case, when
the changes were made in order to
obtain decisions of the court that
were in accordance with the policies
advocated by those administrations,
except in the case of President john
son, when the size of the court was
reduced from 10 to ito prevent the
vacancies from being filled by John
son with appointments which it was
feared might be unfavorable to the
reconstruction policy"
Difficulties in Amendment.
jackson said he was not urging
that the amendment method Of check
ing the court shall not now be tried.
He urged. however, that there were