Imperial Valley press., 1937-03-10
News Behind the News
Personal Judicial Theories Side
Issues on the Supreme Court . The
Roosevelt Theory

WASHINGTON-Side issues in the supreme
court fight have tended to bury the fact that
the struggle is based on difference in judicial
PHILOSOPHERS among the nine justices.
Roosevelt seeks fewer justices who construe
the Constitution as Justices Sutherland, Butler,
Van Devanter, McReynolds Roberts, and some
times Hughes construe it, and more justices who
interpret it as Brandeis, Stone, Cardozo-and,
again sometimes Hughes-interpret it.
Conservatives, and many in the legal profess
sion. insist the court has merely carried out
the mandate Of the Constitution in its opinions
Roosevelt contends that personal convictions,
theories or prejudiceS have guided the majority.
The conservative position was taken by JUS
tice Roberts when he read the to adverse
opinion in the AAA case, follows:
when an act of Congress is appropriately
challenged in the courts as not conforming 10
the constitutional mandate, the judicial branch
of the government has only one duty: to lay
the article of the Constitution which is invoked
beside the statute which is challenged and to
decide whether the latter squares with the for
mer.'
Roosevelt as if in answer to this, said in his
message to Congress Jan. g. that means must be
found to adapt judicial Interpretation to the
actual present needs if the largest progressive
democracy in the modern world"
I'VE do not ask the courts to call non-exis-
tent powers into being he said, but we have
right to expect that conceded powers or those
legitimately implied shall be made effective
cesses of our democracy must not be imperled
by the denial of essential powers of free govern
ment'
Roosevelt takes the position that the Const
tutiin needs no amending. provided justices will
interpret it literally.
The key case in this argument if one may
be singled out. the AAA decision. This in
voved the federal program to control agrlcul-
tural production. in which compliance was OBJ
tained by offering benefit payments the pro-
ceeds of which were derived from processing
taxes
The majority held that production was local
matter that the law invaded state rights. 1t
held the regulation was not voluntary, but
compulsory 1t held that such legislation
unconstitutional, because the Constitution did
not expressly grant Congress the power to regu-
late agricultural product1o1
-o-Ts
The violent split within the court cvi-
denced by the dissenting opinion read by JUS
tice Stone on behalf of himself Brandeis and
Cardozo.
"A tortured construction OF the Constitution"
Stone called the majority opinion. He added that
it curtailed the power of Congress by judicial
fiat" and that its arguments hardly rises to
the dignity of argument" Furthermore, it was
contradictory and destructive of the power to
appropriate for the general welfare, and is in
capable of practical application. The limita-
ton now sanctioned must lead to absurd con-
SEQUENCES While unconstitutional exercise OF
power by the executive and legislative branches
is subject to judicial restraint, the only check
upon our own exercise of power is our own sense
of sef-restraint"