Hugo Black in the United States
Black, Hugo L. (1886_1971)
United States Constitution
According to the Encyclopedia of the American Constitution, about its article titled BLACK, HUGO L. (1886_1971) When Hugo LaFayette Black was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1937, the basic tenets of his mature judicial philosophy had already been formed. Born in the Alabama hill country in 1886, Black received his law degree from the University of Alabama in 1906. He practiced
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Hugo Black
Introduction to Hugo Black
Hugo Black (1886-1971), associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Black was best known for his literal interpretation of the First Amendment, which states that Congress shall “make no law” abridging (limiting) freedom of speech or freedom of the press.
Hugo la Fayette Black was born in Harlan, Alabama, on February 27, 1886. In 1906 he graduated from the University of Alabama Law School. He practiced law in Birmingham and served part-time as a police court judge. In 1923 Black joined the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), a white supremacist organization. Black resigned from the organization three years later after he was elected to the U.S. Senate. As the Democratic senator from Alabama, he sponsored various New Deal legislative measures, including the Fair Labor Standards Act. In 1937 President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Black to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In the 1950s, when the majority of the justices upheld restrictions on personal liberty, Black wrote dissenting opinions favoring individual freedom within the limits set by the Constitution of the United States. In accordance with his absolutist view of the First Amendment, Black opposed governmental controls over obscenity, libel, and “subversive speech.” He also supported racial desegregation, separation of church and state, and rigorous enforcement of antitrust laws. In 1963 Black authored the majority opinion in the case of Gideon v. Wainwright. In Gideon the Court ruled that to ensure due process of the law under the 14th Amendment, local governments must provide attorneys for all poor defendants charged with serious crimes. In later years Black’s voting record became more politically conservative. For example, he dissented (disagreed with the majority) in the 1965 case of Griswold v. Connecticut, in which the Court ruled that prohibiting distribution of contraceptives violated a married couple’s constitutional right to privacy. Black died in 1971, a week after retiring from the Court.” (1)
Resources
Notes and References
- Information about Hugo Black in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia