Evening star., 1941-11-11

take ther cue. DAVID Lawrence.
has so profoundly confused and
perplexed the Federal judges that
many of them are openly proclaim
ing their dilemma.
Is the present Supreme Court
class -minded2 Is it fair? Is 1t really
faithful to its oath to dispense JUS
tice to rich and poor alike? These
questions will be discussed more and
more as the courts acts are re-
vealed.
The Supreme Court has just re-
fused to review a case in which Cen
eral Motors appealed from convic-
ton by jury in the matter of in
sta1lment selling restrictions. What
General Motors Is alleged to have
done two years ago is today the
policy of the Government through
the Federal Reserve Board and by
executive order of the President.
Certainly the effect of the corpora
tion's acts appears now to have been
In the public interest.
Judge Walter j. Lindley at South
Bend, Ind, during the trial was
about to rule on a motion to dis
miss the indictments. He indicated
that he would have done so but that
If he took such step, the Justice
Department would not have an op-
portunity to carry the case to the
Supreme Court for review, and he
believed this was such a complicated
affair the highest court should re-
view it.
Case without Precedent"
But what happened? General
Motors lost the case in the lower
court and now the Supreme Court
has refused a review.
The words of Judge Lindley,
spoken from the Federal bench,
come from the official record. Here
is what he said:
Il have given serious considera-
ton to this indictment. have taken
very careful notes Of the evidence
as it has progressed. -" The case
Is, think, without precedent. .
Il observed in late opinion of
the Supreme Court of the United
States that one of the justices re-
Gently appointed expressly said that
the court had been reconstructed.
The fair implication of that opinion,
as I read it, is that precedents may
be Of little avail and their lack no
bar.
The Supreme Court of the
United States is the supreme judi
cial authority of this country. 1t
should be. and is, I think, the great
est judicial tribunal on the face of
the earth. But the occurrences which
have mentioned frequently place
me In quandary as to when and
how often a district judge should
express his own solemn convictions.
I am not saying that have any in
this case, but we have here a situa-
tion where, If I should allow this
motion, there Is no opportunity
upon the part of the Government
(the Justice Department. to have a
review by the Supreme Court, the
action Of which I cannot undertake
to foretell the decision of which I
feel In no wise capable of prognosti-
eating.
Dismissal Denied.
IT should allow this motion, the
Supreme Court would not have the
opportunity to decide what the law
Is In case which is, as I have said,
without precedent"
Judge Lindley then denied the
motion for dismissal. And what hap
pened afterwards? The jury acquit-
ted the individual defendants
among whom was William S. Knud-
sen. now co-chairman Of the O.P.M.
but it convicted the corporation.
This was a truly anomalous verdict.
Then the Circuit Court of Appeals
affirmed what the jury did in a vo-
luminous opinion full OF complex
ties.
The same privilege which a Fed
eral Judge in lower court had
feared to take away from the ad-
ministrations prosecutors is now
being denied by the Supreme Court
Meanwhile, suits for treble damages
the blackmail feature of the Sher-
man law-were filed and the Justice
Department filed civil suits, the trial
Of which was postponed on the as
sumption that the first case would
be reviewed by the Supreme Court.
Pendulum Swings.
The big hue and cry which was
made in February, 1887, by Presi-
dent Roosevelt was that the Su-
preme Court was not active enough
and that 1t was denying reviews to
citizens and Government attorneys
and that it needed young blood
vigorous judges. But an analysis OF
the reviews granted and denied
since by the New Deal court shows
that the pendulum has swung to a
distinct partisanship for the JUS
tice Department and the New Deal
attorneys. It is rare day when a
corporation wins case or review
before the present Supreme Court
Is that a coincidence or is it class
consciousness?
These are vital questions which
are not as sensational as the war
news but they are directly related
to whether the American system oi
government is being impaired from
within and whether equal justice