The Supreme Court: A Doughty Dean's Defense

Why does the Supreme Court go on reversing state criminal decisions? Is it really soft on criminals? Is it unlawfully amending the Constitution? Harvard's Law School Dean Erwin N. Griswold told the Cleveland Bar Association last week that if anything, the court has been remarkably restrained in exercising its "clear responsibility" to make states follow the national standard set by the 14th Amendment under which "no state . . . shall deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law."

"These words are not merely empty vessels," said Griswold....