AVOIDANCE OF CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES IN THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT: LIBERTIES OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT

Authors

Burton C. Bernard, Member of the Illinois and Missouri Bars

Abstract

The frequently criticized reluctance of the Supreme Court to consider complaints of unconstitutional governmental action is manifested in the utilization by the Court of various rules of avoidance of constitutional issues. Uncompromising defense of this self-restraint would not be easy to reconcile with the Court's pronounced sensitivity, in modem times, to the liberties of the First Amendment. This article will examine the considerations underlying the traditional restraint, and will suggest that the Court should modify several of its rules of avoidance, at least when liberties of the First Amendment are threatened.

Recommended Citation

Burton C. Bernard, AVOIDANCE OF CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES IN THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT: LIBERTIES OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT, 50 Mich. L. Rev. 261 (1951).
Available at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol50/iss2/4