William Douglas
William Douglas
Served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1939 to 1975.
ProfessionSupreme Court Justice
Date of Birth16 October 1898
CityMaine, MN
choice dissent human law laws police responsive society state suppressed vast
There are only two choices: A police state in which all dissent is suppressed or rigidly controlled; or a society where law is responsive to human needs. If society is to be responsive to human needs, a vast restructuring of our laws is essential.
censorship community excite expression freedom juries matter offensive provided punish relates standards tendency test turns worst
Any test that turns on what is offensive to the community's standards is too loose, too capricious, too destructive of freedom of expression to be squared with the First Amendment. Under that test, juries can censor, suppress, and punish what they don't like, provided the matter relates to "sexual impurity" or has a tendency "to excite lustful thoughts." This is community censorship in one of its worst forms.
brave honorable inferior less retreats ways
Honorable retreats are no ways inferior to brave charges, as having less fortune, more of discipline, and as much valor.