Evening star., 1954-01-05
High Court Hears
Two Cases From
Maryland, Virginia

Maryland anG Virginia cases
held Supreme Court attention
today, following actions on such
varied matters as the showing of
f1rst-run movies in Baltimore
and the collecting of social secu-
rity taxes on domestic servants
anywhere.
Test cases up for oral argu-
nnent challenge validity of Mary
lands use tax on products sold
in the State by outside dealers.
and Virginia's levy on gross re-
ceipts of outside concerns having
the privilege" of ding business
in that State.
The court late yesterday fin
ished hearing arguments involv-
ing an attack by Arlington
County on the legal right of
the Virginia Milk Commission to
Ak prices of milk sold in that
county by District distributors.
Tomorrow still another case of
particular interest here is Sched-
uled for argument. It raises the
question whether testimony given
by a Baltimore man before the
Senate crime committee in 1851
was legally used against him in
q State court prosecution.
Theater Ruling.
In the Baltimore theater suit
the court. in a I'll decision writ
ten by Justice Clark, held that
q motion picture distributor did
not violate the antitrust laws
by refusing to give first-run films
to neighborhood theater. Justice
Black disSented. Justice Doug
las did not participate. Justice
Clark declared there was no di- !!
rect evidence of conspiracy or !
other illegal agreement between !
distributors in restricting the
hooking of f1rst-run films to
downtown Baltimore houses.
The social security tax on
domestics was left standing when |
the Supreme Court refused to
review lower court decisions that
the levy is Constitutional.
That was another, and per-
haps final setback. for Mrs.
Carolyn M Abney and 10 other
Marshall, Texas, housewives who
had refused to pay the tax. The
1850 amendment to the social
security act required payment of
/ per cent each by employer
and employe on the earnings of
household employees who worked
a specified number of hours dur
ing a quarter of the year and
were paid as much as $50.
Mrs. Abney complained that
the tax was unconstitutional
mainly because it required en-
ployers to collect the tax by with
holding and reporting it to the
Government. That amounted to
forcing a person to work for the
Government without compensa-
ton. she said. |
tion she said. In Texas last night
she said the case had been car
ried "in good faith" to the Su-
preme Court. She urged that the
flght against the tax be, pushed
In Congress.
Other Actions. ~
In other actions at its first
session of the new year the
court: I
l. Refused to enjoin enforce
ment of an Alabama law forbid
ding State employees to join
unions. The Government and
Civil Employees Organizing Com
mittee, CIO, sought the injunc-
ton by the Supreme Court. Law
yers said the way presumably is
still open for a direct appeal
from an adverse ruling by Fed
eral Court in Alabama on the
merits of the case.
2. Ruled. 5-4, that New York
State prisoner, Robert P. Nor
gan, should be given lower
court hearing on his move to void
a prison sentence he finished
serving 10 years ago. AS a re-
suit of that earlier sentence,
which he now says was illegally
imposed, he received a compare
lively long sentence of from z
to 10 years when convicted on a
burglary charge in 1850. If the /
earlier sentence is erased from
the records. the more recent z
to 10 year sentence might be
lessened.
3. Refused to review the dis
missal of a 100000 damage suit
by S. L. Kilgore against former
Gov. Fuller Warren of Florida.
Mr.. Kilgore claimed he was dis
charged by crushed stone COM
pany because he opposed pay
ment of ''kickbacks" for political i
/