Mark de Wolfe Howe '28, professor of Law, said yesterday that the Supreme Court ruling which invalidates anti-subversion laws on the state level may increase the fairness of investigations and will definitely clear defendants such as former M.I.T. professor Dirk J. Struik.
The high court's recent decision is "unclear," however, Howe maintained, since it does not specify whether all state action concerning subversion is invalid. Congress may also give states future permission to pass such laws, he added.
A six to three majority ruled that "Congress had treated seditious conduct to the exclusion of parallel state legislation."
The case of Struik, a former professor of Physics at M.I.T., is still pending before the Middlesex County Court. He was charged in 1951 under Massachusetts law with "conspiring to overthrow the governments of Massachusetts and the United States."
The charges against Struik are now invalid, according to Howe, despite any future action by Congress permitting state laws on subversion.
Randall Explains Scope
A member of the Massachusetts Commission on Communism, Representative William I. Randall, said that the commission was "up in the air" as to the meaning of the Supreme Court's decision.
The three state laws affected by the ruling, according to Randall, are an anti-subversion act, the abolition of the Communist Party in the state, and a prohibition on renting lecture halls to Communists.
The author of several anti-subversive measures, Representative Charles Ianello, claimed that federal prosecutions have been inadequate in convicting Communists. "Federal courts cannot make convictions without positive evidence that the defendant has tried to overthrow the government." He added that under state laws "easier convictions could be obtained."
Read more in News
Teaching Prize Nominees SoughtRecommended Articles
-
A.A.U.P. States Academic Freedom Standards Review of Past Year's More Significant CasesThis is the CRIMSON'S eight annual Academic Freedom Supplement. As in the past, we do not claim to present a
-
State Commission Says Struik Unfit For MIT FacultyThe case of Dirk Struik, M.I.T. faculty member accused in 1951 of advocating the violent overthrow of the government, was
-
M.I.T. Corporation Will Consider Faculty Findings on Prof. StruikConfidential recommendations by a special M.I.T. Faculty committee will be reviewed by the Institute's Corporation on Monday to determine the
-
Free Speech in IndianaLast summer three student members of the Young Socialist Alliance at Indiana University were indicted for subversion under a 1951
-
The Harvard Union Debate Last Evening.Not more than fifty men were present at the Union meeting last evening. This is a surprisingly small number, as
-
Dean Epps Appointed to State Ethics CommissionDean of Students Archie C. Epps III this week was sworn in as the newest member of the Massachusetts State