David Adler: Holmes defense of freedom of speech | Columnists bismarcktribune.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bismarcktribune.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmesâ invention in 1919, in Schenck v. United States, of the Clear and Present Danger Test, provided little protection for dissenters who opposed Americaâs role in World War I.
Charles Schenck went to prison for encouraging draft resisters. A newspaper publisher was sentenced to prison for publishing anti-draft articles. Eugene Debs, the famous labor organizer, was sent to prison for 10 years for a speech in which he praised those who resisted the draft. As one prominent constitutional scholar, Harry Kalven, observed, âIt is somewhat as though George McGovern had been sent to prison for his criticism of the Vietnam War.â
Does the government have authority to curtail speech that might cause injury to our national security? Such power, asserted throughout the history of our nation, raises thorny questions about the
Letter: Redistricting process must be transparent.
The big problem with the Legislature’s redistricting proposal is language that exempts draft maps from open records. This means that politicians pick their voters in secret. It’s a sneaky way to protect their seats.
Written By:
Dina Butcher, Bismarck | 12:00 pm, Feb. 27, 2021 ×
The big problem with the Legislature’s redistricting proposal is language that exempts draft maps from open records. This means that politicians pick their voters in secret. It’s a sneaky way to protect their seats.
Redistricting isn’t a partisan issue as Port makes it out to be. Even the North Dakota Newspaper Association and North Dakota Broadcasters Association are against the secrecy part of the proposal. As a conservative, I am sure Rob supports transparency as in open meetings and open records.
When it was first decided the Legislature would meet every two years instead of annually, lawmakers could never have foreseen how the future would change not only their ability to meet, but also the volatility that can quickly shake state government.