Howl at the court...

Having been fretting about the courts for a bit, I was pleased to run across a story which may bring a bit of hope to those similarly fretting...On March 25, 1957, US Customes agents seized a number of Allen Ginsberg's, Howl, claiming it was "obscene." He and his attorneys were somewhat concerned when they learned that the judge hearing the case was a sunday school teacher who, a short time before his hearing, had sentenced several shoplifters to sit through a screening of "The Ten Commandments." Ignoring the "cruel and unusual" implications of forcing someone to watch Charlton Heston, this bode poorly for a poem with some rather graphic references. Much to everyone's surprise and supporter's pleasure, the court came down solidly on the side of Ginsberg, Howl and the 1st Amendment.

For better or worse, federal judgeships are for life. More often than not, this results in a broader, deeper and more "holistic" view of the law...at least this is what I keep telling myself, over and over and over and over (ok, I admit, I have still not recovered from Pres. Bush the Elder declaring C. Thomas, "the most qualified person" in the country to take the seat of Justice Marshall (personally, I think it was Lawrence Tribe...but then I also think every other sitting justice on the Federal bench should have resigned the next day).