When the Nazis Came to Skokie (Landmark Law Cases & American Society)
Strum (political science, CUNY) details the protracted legal battle between the city of Skokie and the Illinois chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in 1977 and 1978. At issue was the right of the National Socialist Party of America, a neo-Nazi group, to stage an anti-Jewish demonstration in a suburban Chicago community whose population consisted substantially of Holocaust survivors. Skokie v. Collin became a classic First Amendment dispute, and Strum carefully and methodically traces the history and issues of the case all the way to the United States Supreme Court. Also insightful is Strum's treatment of the impact of the case on the ACLU and its Illinois chapter, which brought suit on behalf of the protest group's leader, Frank Collin. Citing Collin's First Amendment right to free speech, the ACLU was defending its cardinal principle. The paradox of the ACLU supporting a client with abhorrent views is a theme that pervades the book. Recommended for anyone seeking perspective on the First Amendment.APhilip Young Blue, New York State Supreme Court Criminal Branch Lib., New YorkCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.