III. Brandeis’ Vote against Whitney: Procedural & Substantive Faults
Justice Brandeis voted for Charles Ruthenberg on both procedural and substantive grounds, and voted against Anita Whitney on both procedural and substantive grounds. We find it difficult to accept such different outcomes.
The final two paragraphs of Brandeis’ concurrence in Whitney have been routinely ignored. Those paragraphs, which we quote in full, are set out below:
Whether in 1919, when Miss Whitney did the things complained of, there was in California such clear and present danger of serious evil, might have been made the important issue in the case. She might have required that the issue be determined either by the court or the jury. She claimed below that the statute as applied to her violated the Federal Constitution; but she did not claim that it was void because there was no clear and present danger of serious evil, nor did she request that the existence of these conditions of a valid measure thus restricting the rights of free speech and assembly be passed upon by the court or a jury. On the other hand, there was evidence on which the court or jury might have found that such danger existed. I am unable to assent to the suggestion in the opinion of the Court that assembling with a political party, formed to advocate the desirability of a proletarian revolution by mass action at some date necessarily far in the future, is not a right within the protection of the Fourteenth Amendment. In the present case, however, there was other testimony which tended to establish the existence of a conspiracy, on the part of members of the International Workers of the World, to commit present serious crimes; and likewise to show that such a conspiracy would be furthered by the activity of the society of which Miss Whitney was a member. Under these circumstances the judgment of the state court cannot be disturbed.
Our power of review in this case is limited not only to the question whether a right guaranteed by the Federal Constitution was denied, Murdock v. City of Memphis, 20 Wall. 590; Haire v. Rice, 204 U.S. 291, 301; but to the particular claims duly made below, and denied. Seaboard Air Line Ry. v. Duvall, 225 U.S. 477, 485-488. We lack here the power occasionally exercised on review of judgments of lower federal courts to correct in criminal cases vital errors, although the objection was not taken in the trial court. Wiborg v. United States, 163 U.S. 632, 658-660; Clyatt v. United States, 197 U.S. 207, 221-222. This is a writ of error to a state court. Because we may not enquire into the errors now alleged, I concur in affirming the judgment of the state court.[145]
At the outset, note that Brandeis offers two kinds of arguments as to why he votes to affirm Whitney’s conviction – jurisdictional and substantive. Generally speaking, this two-track line of argument suggests that even if one were to grant arguendo that there were no jurisdictional impediments, Brandeis was nonetheless prepared to vote against Whitney on the substantive merits. On both tracks, we think Brandeis had it wrong, and we surmise that he may well have known it.
