When We Lose The Right To Be

The Liberty Of The Press Is Not Confined To Newspapers And Periodicals. It Necessarily Embraces Pamphlets And Leaflets.

The Power Of Administrative Bodies To Make Finding Of Fact Which May Be Treated As Conclusive, If There Is Evidence Both Ways, Is A Power Of Enormous Consequence. An Unscrupulous Administrator Might Be Tempted To Say "let Me Find The Facts For The People Of My Country, And I Care Little Who Lays Down The General Principles."

Emergency Does Not Increase Granted Power Or Remove Or Diminish The Restrictions Imposed Upon Power Granted Or Reserved. The Constitution Was Adopted In A Period Of Grave Emergency. Its Grants Of Power To The Federal Government And Its Limitations Of The Power Of The States Were Determined In The Light Of Emergency, And They Are Not Altered By Emergency.

But It Is Recognized That Punishment For The Abuse Of The Liberty Accorded To The Press Is Essential To The Protection Of The Public, And That The Common Law Rules That Subject The Libeler To Responsibility For The Public Offense, As Well As For The Private Injury, Are Not Abolished By The Protection Extended In Our Constitutions. The Law Of Criminal Libel Rests Upon That Secure Foundation. There Is Also The Conceded Authority Of Courts To Punish For Contempt When Publications Directly Tend To Prevent The Proper Discharge Of Judicial Functions.

When We Deal With Questions Relating To Principles Of Law And Their Applications, We Do Not Suddenly Rise Into A Stratosphere Of Icy Certainty.