Today in Supreme Court History: July 29, 1942

7/29/1942: Supreme Court hears oral argument in Ex Parte Quirin.

The Stone Court (1942)

Comments

[Dan Schiavetta]

A more bumbling operation can scarcely be imagined. It reminds me of that movie, "The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming".

[Seamus]

Really? I don't think Ex parte Quirin had the same kind of heartwarming ending as The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! did.

[Syd Henderson]

A good decision under the circumstances, but you do need to actually try the suspects in a reasonable length of time. Kenneth Royall fought the good fight here, but the court was right. But he was not so noble for refusing Truman's order to desegregate the military.

[Seamus]

I remember Kenneth Royall with admiration whenever I hear people bitching and moaning about how white-shoe law firms take the cases of accused terrorists in Guantanamo. (I just wish those law firms had as much courage when facing Critical Racial Theory, but that's a rant for another time.)

[Dilan Esper]

There really is a push on the left these days to try and pick up the old mantle of the right and punish lawyers for taking cases involving unpopular defendants. And it's really bad, no matter who does it.

[Dilan Esper]

Quirin is similar to Korematsu in that SCOTUS is rarely/almost never going to make a ruling that a presidential administration is likely to ignore. Which really sucks for the development of constitutional law, but it is the pragmatic principle the Court operates under. The price the Court pays for having its other rulings enforced is decisions like Quirin.

[Cal Cetín]

The case comes with its own sound track.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5rRZdiu1UE

[Samuel Howard]

However, in general, it can be seen that philosophers have always said that justice originates from the need for social order. A society needs justice in order to have order, thereby stabilizing and developing. On the contrary, order and stability are essential elements for the administration of justice. drift boss