Today in Supreme Court History: August 19, 1937

8/19/1937: Justice Hugo Black takes the oath.

Justice Hugo Black

 

Comments

[Dan Schiavetta]

Congress shall make no law . . .

"'No' to me means 'No'."

[apedad]

Not sure what you're referring to but just remember, there are no absolutes in the Constitution.

There are limits and exceptions on many of the rights.

[Dan Schiavetta]

Odd that you didn't know. It was probably his most famous quote. A First Amendment absolutist (and an originalist) if there ever was one. When the Court heard a case on an x-rated film, the other Justices got out their popcorn, but he refused to see it; he knew how he was going to vote. One liberal commentator called him "simple-minded", but sometimes that's okay.

I saw his interview on "60 Minutes" (from 1970, I think) where he pulled out a little booklet-sized Constitution from his pocket. He said he always carried it with him. It sure looked well-worn.

[Dan Schiavetta]

Just looked it up, and in fact the interview was on "CBS Reports", broadcast on Dec. 3, 1968. I feel really old now.

It was the first ever broadcast interview with a sitting Supreme Court Justice. The interviewer was Eric Sevareid (commentator sometimes called "Eric Several-sides").