Erwin N. Griswold, dean of the Law School, and William L. Marbury, a member of the Corporation, are among fifty of the country's most prominent attorneys who have issued a statement rebuking Sen. Barry Goldwater for his attacks on the Supreme Court.
This latest denouncement of the Republican Presidential candidate came from both Democrats and Republicans in influential positions, and it charges that Goldwater's criticisms of the Court "overpass the limits of comment appropriate to a Presidential candidate."
Griswold was listed as one of the five men who played the principal role in originating the statement. The New York Times said yesterday that he is a registered Republican.
"Broadside attacks on the integrity and competence of the Supreme Court have become regular and prominent features of his campaign" since Gold-water's address to the American Political Science Association on Sept. 11, the group charged.
In that speech, Goldwater complained that "of all three branches of government, today's Supreme Court is least faithful to the constitutional tradition of limited government and to the principle of legitimacy in the exercise of power."
Goldwater Supports Amendment
The Republican candidate has supported a constitutional amendment to overrule the school prayer decision and has attacked Court stands on legislative reapportionment and fair procedure in criminal cases.
Rebuking Goldwater, the group of lawyers called his remarks an "attack upon the ultimate guardian of American liberty."
"It is especially regrettable," the signers said, that Goldwater has suggested Court decisions are made "on the basis of partisan considerations or party ideology." The current membership of the Court, they pointed out, was determined by four Presidents and both parties.
While signing the statement did not necessarily imply support for President Johnson's candidacy, Marbury's presence among the attorneys put a high-ranking officer of the University on the record against Goldwater.
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