Fred W. Friendly (1915–1998)

Minnesota Rag by Fred W. Friendly was the Silver Gavel Award winner in 1982. The Silver Gavel Award is given every year by the American Bar Association for a work of nonfiction that best illuminates the legal system in some regard. This book was written by a proponent and protector of Freedom of the Press, about the 1931 Supreme Court case that defined (some say redefined) the meaning of Freedom of the Press. The case involves liers, cheats, mean vindictive people, and huge egos, but where this book really excelled was in the description of the Supreme Court at that point in time. Reading this book just proves that the controversies about the politicization of the Court have been going on for a long long time - probably from the beginning. It may be that I found that part the most fascinating because it was like reading about the Court of today and realizing that the same political fights about strict or liberal interpretation of the Constitution are still going on. At the time of this court case, Chief Justice William H. Taft (the former President) had just died and Charles Evans Hughes became the new Chief Justice. Hughes was a more liberal justice than Taft, which was a surprise to the Harding administration, and his influence allowed the decision to go as it did. This book was written to explain what the Doctrine of Prior Restraint was and how dangerous it is for democracy. It does that, and makes me want to go read more about the history of the Cour… (mer)