sheM t t an Ratn
Eighty-one years of editorial freedom
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
The success of
Nixon's manipulations
A
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mich.
News Phone: 764-0552
Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers
or the editors. This must be noted-in all reprints.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1971
NIGHT EDITOR: W. E. SCHROCK
The Court nominations.. .
LEWIS POWELL and William Rehnquist
are names to be remembered, Presi-
dent Nixon told the nation Thursday
night. He stressed that "judicial conser-
vatives" Powell and Rehnquist graduated
at the top of their college classes and
are superbly qualified, both academically
and legally.
Powell and Rehnquist, who will prob-
ably receive confirmation in the Senate,
will mark the final closing of the liberal
era of the court and stamp it with a con-
servative brand. This court will likely be
reluctant to overturn convictions and
wary of judicial innovation and could
retain this character into the 1980's.
Both nominees are educated, intelli-
gent men. Therefore, assuming that no
scandal arises around either of them,
the Senate liberals who were preparing
to do battle over the nominations of
Herschel Friday and Mildred Lillie have
had their arguments defused. Despite
the campaign that may be mounted by
Sen. Birch Bayh (D-Ind.), it would be
virtually unprecedented to reject a Su-
preme Court nominee solely on the basis
of political and legal viewpoint.
REHNQUIST is a protege of both
Deputy Atty. Gen. Richard Klein-
deinst, the strongest law and order man
in the Justice Department, and Sen.
Barry Goldwater, a fellow Arizonian. He
has told college students that it would
not be "unreasonable" for the govern-
ment to ask the Supreme Court to re-
verse its Miranda vs. Arizona decision-
where the court declared that criminal
suspects must be informed of their rights
to remain silent and to legal counsel.
Rehnquist has been the spokesman
since 1969 of the Justice Department in
promoting the legalization and legisla-
tively unrestricted use of political sur-
veillance of those the government con-
siders suspicious individuals. He has said
that "self discipline" on the part of the
government is all that is needed to pro-
tect the innocent. Though the term sur-
veillance may become increasingly bland
with widespread media usage, to the in-
dividual under surveillance it will con-
tinue to mean being tailed and bugged-
all the time.
POWELL, a wealthy, sophisticated Vir-
ginia lawyer and a past American
Bar Association president, is considered
a racial moderate. But his attitude to-
ward the First Amendment is no more
promising than Rehnquist's. In a recent
article he claimed allegations that dis-
sent is suppressed and free speech denied
in the United States were -"sheer non-
sense" and "standard leftist propagan-
da." He too has supported governmental
wiretapping of, the "radical left" even
without warrants.
Powell has accurately noted that
"wealth, social position, and the race of
clients may affect the standards of jus-
tice available." But it is hardly encour-
aging when a nominee for the Supreme
Court, a friend and political ally for
years of right wing Sen. Harry Byrd Jr. of
Virginia, observes the obvious and is con-
sequently lauded for his understanding,
legal impartiality and acumen.
THE COURT has awaiting it important
cases on such questions as the legal
rights of defendants, the busing of stu-
dents, school integration, voting district
reapportionment, the rights of welfare
recipients, the preservation of free speech
and press, and the legality of the draft.
The appointment of Rehnquist and
Powell would not bode well for either
the First Amendment or the progres-
sive forces in American society.
Nixon noted Thursday night that
"Presidents come and go, but the Su-
preme Court goes on forever." He is right
about presidents coming and going-
and hopefully, he will be gone soon-but
the President has wanted to stick around
in one way or another, and in one way
he probably will.
The Supreme Court used to be known
as the "Warren Court." Today, few ob-
servers talk about the "Burger Court,"
but more and more people are talking
about the "Nixon Court."
--ARTHUR LERNER
By TONY SCHWARTZ
RICHARD NIXON, ever the pol-
itician, still possessed of a
life-time memory of bad press,
one-upped his old adversaries
Thursday night.
The curious game of cat-and-
mouse over the potential Su-
preme Court nominees appears
just part of a more elaborate
game Nixon has taken to play-
ing. Unlike the past, Nixon ap-
pears to be winning by shutout.
No one in an embarrassed corps
of Washington pressmen is quite
sure how the Supreme Court fias-
co was bungled. All they know is
that they missed the boat.
It started when Justices Black
and Harlan resigned suddenly and
Nixon was faced with a luscious
opportunity he wasn't about to
miss exploiting. .
Simultaneously, a host of "in-
formed sources" began to leak
possible candidates for the High
Court. Whether these ethereal fi-
gures were members of the Amer-
ican Bar Association (AB.A.) or
of the Nixon administration is
unclear. One thing is certain. Nix-
on managed apparent political
mileage by titillating the egos of
the early court prospects whose
names graced front pages across
the nation for two weeks.
Richard Poff, a Virginia con-
gressman was the first name to
spring into contention. Poff with-
drew his name hurriedly when it
became apparent that the in-
tense public scrutiny of his re-
cord was going to hit him right
where it hurt.y
NEXT CAME Robert Byrd, a
superbly popular West Virginia
Senator and coincidentally, the
Democratic Party Whip. Byrd's
staunchly conservative b a c k-
ground combined with his wide-
spread popularity among Demo-
crats made him a prime candi-
date for Nixon's flattery.
Byrd's name remained in con-
His choices are judically dis-
tinguished if rather reactionary.
They are almost sure to win re-
sounding approval from the Sen-
ate.
The Supreme Court affair, how-
ever, is only part of a policy Nix-
on is following with considerable
success.
THE GAME is to give the press
coffee and doughnuts, act buddy-
buddy to avoid giving any inkling
as to future plans.,
First it was the China an-
nouncements. Liberal democratE
had been carping about a thaw in
relations with China for years.
Bang. Nixon came on television.
his newest and increasingly more
comfortable medium, and told the
nation he was going to Commun-
ist China. He stuck a big fat ap-
ple in Ed Muskie's mouth when
he announced dramatic wage-
-and price freeze and economic
reversals. Pulled the carpet out
from under.
This week, he found time to
capture headlines by announcing
surprise plans to conduct. a sum-
mit conference with Russian lead-
ers.
ALL OF THIS prompted the
outspoken, half-bemused, half en-
raged Lester Maddox to say, when
asked whether he would support
Nixon's reelection, "No sir, he's
more liberal than McGovern. Ei-
ther that or he's a liar and I can't
quite make out which."
Nixon has learned some lessons
and, at least for the moment, he'
is in command of his press. He
has come a long way from his
acrimonious accusations after his
1962 defeat in the California gub-
ernatorial race.
1960 taught him that the work-
ing press couldn't be trusted. And
1968 brought us a newly tailored
4
Al
4
WITH THE DEPARTURE of Associate Justices John Harlao and Hugo Black (front row, first and
second from left), the Supreme Court will now gain two more Nixon nominees. Chief Justice War-
ren Burger (to the right of Black) and Associate Justice Harry Blackmun (back row, far right)
were Nixon's first two picks.J
tention until the magic moment
and even though he wasn't chosen,
little offense could be taken. Aft-
er all, as a former Ku Klux Klan-
ner and a man who has never
practiced law, he wasn't exactly
"eminently qualified."
Prior to the submission of the
"final" six candidates to the ABA
a few more names laced the air,
including Michigan's own Robert
Griffin, the minority whip. Grif-
fin is a man Nixon likes to count
on his side consistently.
J -
..- P
ti4 ,i Y I . j
44
sY"
~ x
e t Itil.ThM n-
Whatever become of the pillars?
"Informed sources" leaked more
news last week spreading six faces
across the front pages.
Three of the six were partic-
ularly notable.
THE FIRST TWO were women.
Although one, Mildred Lillie of
Los Angeles was a favorite going
into the final day, neither one
was very impressive. Lillie was
"not approved" by the ABA in
an 11-1 vote.
The third notable was Judge
Herschel Friday of Arkansas. Fri-
day was the number one favorite
until 10 minutes before Nixon's
announcement.
Nevertheless, his civil rights
record incorporated a lifetime of
opposition to integration. Worse,
he found himself quickly pinned
with the depressing "mediocre"
tag that previously burdened
Judges G. Harrold, Carswell and
Clement HaynswortharThe ABA
found him only slightly less un-
desirable than Lillie.
At 7:20 Eastern Daylight Time.
10 minutes before Nixon's an-
nouncement. a frantic Associated
Press story brought news that
Nixon has chosen Arlen Adams, a
federal appeals court judge from,
Philadelphia. Adams' heart skip-
ped. a beat and he choked on his
milk, but eight minutes later he
was no longer an Associate Su-
preme Court judge. A hasty cor-
rection leaped across the wire
and A.P. had determined that the
actual nominee was Louis Powell,
a Virginia lawyer. A misunder-
stood phone call to a Washing-
ton source 'was the explanation
given.
NIXON CAME ON television re-
Nevertheless, the clever Nixon appeared to
have won two battles. He has dispensed with the
increasingly unpleasant need to submit potential
nominees to the ABA. Simultaneously he has
closed the mouths of critics who claimed he was
settling for mediocrity on the nation's highest
court.
.*. . .
laxed and confident. For 12 min-
utes he outlined his judicial phi-
losophy before finally letting
loose with the bomb. Rehnquist
and Powell. Two names that had
not even been on the list sent to
the A.B.A.
But the affront to the A.B.A.
was yet to come. A few minutes
later, John Mitchell released a
letter denying the ABA the op-
portunity to review presidential
Supreme Court nominations be-
fore they ,are sent to the Senate.
Ironically, Mitchell cited "pre-
mature publication of informa-
tion" as the reason for the action.
ABA officials denied the leak-
age and attributed it to the ad-
ministration.
Nevertheless, the clever Nixon
appeared to have won two battles.
He has dispensed with the in-
creasingly unpleasant need to
submit potential nominees to the
A.B.A. Simultaneously he has
closed the mouths of critics who
claimed he was settling for medio-
crity on the nation's highest
court.
Nixon, one well attuned to the
marketing of an image so aptly
described in McGinnis' The Sell-
ing of the President,
SO THE CONFIDENT NIXON
flattered a host of egos, raised a
few hopes, threw the critics arms
in the.air and then diffused them.
He has learned the art of sur-
prise. For now it seems to be
working. Whether the slickness
will survive the rigors of an-
other presidential campaign has
piqued interest among a group of
Washington writers with a vested
interest.
. . an insult to women
BEFORE PRESIDENT Nixon announced
his nominations to the Supreme
Court, he expressed a desire that the
court "should in the broadest sense be
representative of the entire nation." It
is obvious that Mr. Nixon's statement is
just rhetoric, due to the conspicuous ab-
sence of a woman among his six nomi-
nees over the past three years. Nixon is
thus in the narrowest sense denying jus-
tice to a majority of Americans.
Justifying his actions on the basis of
"strict constructionism"-i.e. that no
qualified woman shares what he calls
"his basically conservative philosophy,"-
Nixon is simply 'perpetuating the dis-
crimination against women in the legal
field.
First, there is the stark fact that
women just do not occupy the high posi-
tions from which Supreme Court nomi-
nees are drawn. And secondly, even if
there were such women, the majority of
them would not hold the views Mr. Nixon
seems to think are necessary to sit on
the nation's highest court.
THE ABSENCE of any women on the
Supreme Court is representative of
the discrimination against women at all
levels of employment. Doris Sassower, a
noted New York lawyer and authority on
womens' rights, points out that "of al-
most 10,000 judges in the U.S. less than
200 of them are women and all but an
elite few sit on inferior courts of limited
jurisdiction." On the federal level, there
is only one woman appellate court judge
out of 97 circuit courts and four women
district court judges out of 369 district
courts.
Judgeships are not the only area of
the legal profession where this discrimi-
nation is blatant, however. Studies by
various legal organizations have reveal-
ed that there are very few women who
are ever accepted as partners in a law
firm and few women are hired as law
professors. Out of 2500 law faculty in
the country, only 53 are women.
"There is a lack of incentive for wom-
ers, can't be -partners in law firms, and
can't get on the bench."
BUT EVEN IF there were women in high
places, the likelihood of Nixon ap-
pointing one is fairly slim. Nixon claims
he has based his nomination on a pledge
to "nominate to the Supreme Court indi-
viduals who shared my judicial philoso-
phy, which is basically a conservative
philosophy."
Nixon's definition of "strict construc-
tion" means that a judge "should got
twist or bend the constitution in order
to perpetuate his personal, political or
social views."
But in reality, judges who have pre-
sided under the guise of strict construc-
tion have only served to perpetuate the
personal, political and social views of the
rich and powerful rulers, who exclude
women and minority groups.
Most women in the legal profession,
working for i any period of time, face
discrimination in most every step they
take. They would therefore have little
reason to hold strict ' constructionist
views -_which may very well keep them
in the same position they have been
struggling in. It is through their strug-
gle in the profession that women learn
the way to get ahead is through what
Mr. Nixon might call "bending and
twisting the constitution" but what is in
fact interpreting the constitution to rec-
tify injustices which have been thrust
upon the woman and minority groups by
an oppressive ruling class-made up pri-
marily of men.
'THUS the absence of any qualified
women strict constructionists is quite
understandable.
But on the other hand, is Mr. Nixon's
criterion of strict construction justifi-
able? As Sassower puts it, "in this mo-
ment of history, this criteria (strict con-
struction) must be sacrificed before
women are sacrificed. To set up such cri-
teria is wholly wrong and unjust." If
Mr. Nixon is indeed seeking representa-
*
Two young men go astray
By ROBSRT SCHREINER
DON AND I walked out of the
store. We were in East Lan-
sing the night of the day that
Michigan States lost a football
game to Michigan. We had all
been feeling good ever since the
morning and all through the
game, and in order to keep feel-'
ing good we went to the store and
Don bought three bottles of some
cheap red wine and I bought one
of those boxes containing 12 Old
Milwaukee beers, not that I par-
ticular care for it, but because it
was on special and had a handle.
We walked across the street
and headed across a gas station.
"Watch it," Don said. "There's
a cop over there."
"Where?"
"Over there in the station wa-
gon, at the gas pump."
"Christhdon't worry about it.
He's got better things to do than
bother us. There are people be-
ing murdered and stores being
robbed. Don't worry."
WE WALKED ACROSS a field
in the dark and came out in front
of the dormitory. The party was
in several rooms inside the dormi-
tory.
"Watch it," Don said. The cop's
over there." It was the samecpo-
liceman in the station wagon. He
must have coipe the long way
down the road that wraps around
the field. He was between us and
the dormitory and we kept walk-
ing. He drove up to us.
"What do you have in that bag,
son"?
"Alcoholic beverages, sir."
"How old are you"?
"Twenty, sir."
"And you"?
"Twenty, sir."
"Alright, fellas." He jumped
out of the car. "You two minors
are in violation of the state li-
quor laws. Don't give me any
trouble. Let's get in the car."
WE GOT IN the car. Officer
Burns was talking on the radio.
He had just apprehended two
minors in violation of the state
liquor laws, section 316. He would
now proceed to obtain proper
identification of said minors and
determine where the goods had
been purchased.
Officer Burns -drove around
the side of the dormitory. Were
we aware, he asked, that we
were in violation of the state li-
quor laws which prohibit the sale
of intoxicating beverages to mi-
nors? I answered while Don was
transferring his bogus Missouri
drivers license from his wallet to
his shoe.
"Yes," I said to officer Burns.
I was unable tovadd2"sir"because
it appeared he was 23 or 24 years
old. He had a blue jacket on with
an insignia, and a gun. "We are
aware of the law, but in view of
the new state law to become oper-
ative in January and the fact
that we're almost 21 ..." I let the
words linger for effect.
Officer Burns closed his eyes.
"The present law is the present
law," he said. "The sooner you
kids find that out, the better-off
we'll all be. Now get out of the
ca.,
Officer Burns stopped at the
loading dock at the side of the
referred to the county prosecutor.
He could, if he so chose, prose-
cute us at a later date for viola-
tion of the state liquor laws.
Meanwhile, Officer Burns should
proceed with the two minors to
the place of purchase for identi-
fication of seller to be forwarded,
to the Secretary of State.
On the way to the store, Of-
ficer Burns asked if we could
identify the seller.
"It was pretty dark in there,"
Don said.
"Well, we'll see how you can
do," Officer Burns said.
We went inside the store, which
also sold groceries. It was fairly
dark inside the store. Don could
not remember who had sold him
the intoxicating beverages. The
guy who had sold it to us with-
out asking for any ID said he
had never seen us before. The
manager came out of the back
room and informed Officer Burns
that the policy of his store is not
to sell alcoholic beverages to any-
one under the age prescribed by
the state liquor laws, and his
employes were all aware of that
fact. In fact, they would lose their
jobs if they did not adhere to the
policy.
WE GOT BACK in the car and
drove back to the dormitory. Of-
ficer Burns told us he was let-
ting us go, that the county pro-
secutor would contact us if we
were going to be prosecuted.
"According to federal law, I
should haul you in for not having
a draft card on your person," he
told me. "But I'm going to give
you a break. Now go on."
"Officer, at the risk of sound-
ing ludicrous," Don said, "Would
you mind letting us take the bev-
erages with us?"
Officer Burns closed his eyes.
"You two." he pointed, "get the
hp1 rntof hisca."
-Daily-Robert wargo
dormitory. We got out in the
dark. "Lean up against the car
and spread those legs," Officer
Burns said. Don was first to be
frisked. First, Officer Burns
kicked Don's legs farther apart,
then ran his hands down the
length of his body, stopping just
short of his ankles. "Alright, back
in the car. Now you, spread your
legs." I was clean and we got back
into the car.
ALRIGHT, let's have some ID
fellas." Don handed over his Mich-
igan drivers license and Officers
Burns wrote on a piece of white
paper,
"Do you live at this address
now, Donald"? Donald said that
right. now he did, but that Mon-
day he would be going back to
school in Boston.
Officer Burns looked at 'me.
"Let's see your license."
"I don't have it with me," I
said.
"Then your draft card."
"I don't have that either."
"Are you aware." Officer
Burns addressed me, that it is a
federal crime to not have your
draft card with you at all times"?
I did not answer.
"You don't have any ID at all?"
he asked.
"Not when I travel," I said.
"Where do you come from?"
"Ann Arbor."
Letters to the Editor