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4-15-1970 Conduct of Associate Justice Douglas ( William O. Douglas ) Gerald R. Ford

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Vol. 116 WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 1970 No. 60 House of Representatives CONDUCT OF ASSOCIATE JUSTICE DOUGLAS ------~e;=....t.~'" -the House of Representatives by Republican Leader Gerald R. Ford of Mi chigan

Mr. GERALD R. FORD. Mr. Speaker, His private life, to the degree that it does should we remove him for a minor or last May 8 I joined with the r:entlem fl n not bring the Supreme Court into disre­ isolated mistake-this does not consti­ from Ohio (Mr. TAFT) in introducing pute, is his own business. One does not tute behaviour in the common meaning. H.R. 11109, a bill requiring financial dis­ need to be an ardent admirer of any What we should scrutinize in sitting closure by members of the Federal ju­ judge or justice, or an advocate of his Judges is their continuing pattern of diciary. This was amid the allegations life style, to acknowledge his right to be action, their behaviour. The Constitution swirling around Mr, Justice Fortas. Be­ elevated to or remain on the bench, does not demand that it be "exemplary" fore and since, other Members of this We have heard a great deal of dis­ or "perfect," But it does have to be body have proposed legislation of similar cussion recently about the qualifications "good." intent. To the best of my knowledge, all which a person should be required to NatUl'ally, there must be orderly pro­ of them lie dormant in the Committee possess to be elevated to the U.S. Su­ cedure for determining whether or not on the Judiciary where they were re­ preme Court, There has not been a Federal judge's behaviour is good, The ferred. sufficient consideration given, in my courts. arbiters in most such questions of On Ma.rch 19 the U.S . JUdicial Con­ judgment, to the qualifications which a judgment, cannot judge themselves. So ference announced the adoption of new person should possess to remain upon the Founding Fathers vested this ulti­ ethical standards on outside earnings and the U.S. Supreme Court. mate power where the ultimate sover­ confiict of interest. They were described For, contrary to a widepsread miscon­ eignty of our ·system is most directly re­ as somewhat watered down from the ception, Federal judges and the Justices fiected-in the Congress, in the elected strict proposals of former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court are not appointed Representatives of the people and of the Warren at the time of the Fortas affair. for life. The Founding Fathers would States. In any event, they are not binding upon have been the last to make such a mis­ In this seldom-used procedure, called the Supreme Court. take; the American Revolution was impeachment. the legislative branch Neither are the 36-year-old Canons of waged against an hereditary monarchy exercises both executive and judicial Judicial Ethics of the American Bar As­ in which the King always had a life term functions. The roles of the two bodies sociation, among which are these: and, as English history bloodily demon­ differ dramatically. The House serves as Canon 4. Avoi dance 0/ Improwiety . A strated, could only be removed from office prosecutor and grand jury; the Senate judge's offi cial conduct shou ld be free from by the headsman's ax or the assassin's serves as judge and trial jury. improp riety and t h e app e a r~n ce of impro­ prtety; he should avoid Infractions of law; daggel . Article I of the Constitution has this and h is personal behavior, not only upon t he No, the Constitution does not guaran­ to say about the impeachment process: Ben ch and in the performance of judicial tee a lifetime of power and authority to The House of Representatives-shall have duties, but also in his everyday !lfe. should any public officiaL The terms of Members the sole power of Impeachment. be beyond reproach. of the House are fixed at 2 years; of The Senate 'shall have the sole Power to Canon 24. Inconsistent Obligati ons. A judge the President and Vice President at 4; try all Impeachments. When sitting for should not accept Inconsist ent duties; nor of U.S. Senators at 6. Members of the that Purpose . tbey shall be on Oath or Af­ incur obligations, pecuniary or otherWise, Federal judiciary hold their offices only firmation. When the President of the United which will In any way Interfere or appear to Stat es is tried, the Chief Justice shall interfere with his devotion to the expe­ "during good behaviow'." preside: And no Person shall be convicted ditious and proper administration of h is of­ Let me read the first section of article without the Concurrence of two-thirds of ficial function. III of the Constitution in full: the Members present. Canon 31. Private Law Practice. In many The Judicial power of the United States states the practice of law by one holding sh all be vested in one supreme Court, and Article II. dealing with the executive judicial position is forbidden . , . If forbid­ In such inferior Courts as the Congress may branch, states in section 4: den to practice law, he should refrain from from time to time ordain and establlsh. The The PreSident, Vice President, and all civll accepting any professional employment wlllle Judges, both of the -supreme a nd inferior Officers of the United States, shall be re­ in office. Courts, shall hold their Offices duri ng good moved from office on impeachment for, and Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive conviction of, Treason, Bribery or other high Following the public disclosure last for their Services. a Compensation, which crimes and misdemeanors. year of the extrajudicial activities and sh all not be diminished during their Con­ moonlighting employment of Justices t inuance in Office. This has been the most controversial Fortas and Douglas, which resulted in of the constitutional references to the The clause dealing with the compen­ impeachment process. No concensus the resignation from the Supreme Bench sation of Federal judges, which inciden­ of Mr, Justice Fortas but not of Mr. Jus­ exists as to whether, in the case of Fed­ tally we raised last year to $60,000 for eral judges, impeachment must depend tice Douglas, I received literally hundreds Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, of inquiries and protests from concerned suggests that their "continuance in of­ upon conviction of one of the two speci­ citizens and colleagues, fied Cl;mes of treason or bribery or be fice " is indeed limited. The provision within the nebulous category of "other In response to this evident interest I that it may not be decreased prevents quietly undertook a study of both the the legislative or executive branches high crimes and misdemeanors." There law of impeachment and the facts about from unduly influencing the judiciary by are pages upon pages of learned argu­ the behavior of Mr. Justice Douglas. I cutting judges' pay, and suggests that ment whether the adjective "high" assured inquirers that I would make my even in those bygone days the income of modifies "misdmeanors" as well as findings known at the appropriate time. jurists was a highly sensitive matter. "crimes," and · over what, indeed, con­ That preliminary report is now ready. To me the Constitution is perfectly stitutes a "high misdemeanor." Let me say by way of preface that I am clear about the tenure, or term of office, In my view, one of the specific or gen­ a lawyer, admitted to the bar of the U,S. of all Federal judges-it is "during good eral offenses cited in article II is required Supreme Court. I have the most profound behaviour." It is impliCit in this that for removal of the indirectly elected respect for the U,S. Supreme Court, I when behaviour ceases to be good, the President and Vice President and all ap­ would never advocate action against a right to hold judicial office ceases also, pointed civil officers of the executive member of that Court because of his Thus, we come quickly to the central branch of the Federal Government, political philosophy or the legal opinions question: What constitutes "good be­ whatever their terms of office. But in the which he contributes to the decisions of haviour" or, conversely, ungood or dis­ case of members of the judicial branch, J the Court. Mr. Justice Douglas has been qualifying behaviour? Federal judges and Justices, I believe an\ criticized for his liberal opin10ns and be­ The words employed by the Framers of additional and much stricter requirement cause he granted stays of execution to the Constitution were, as the proceedings is imposed by article II, namely, "good the convicted spies, the Rosenbergs, who of the Convention detail, chosen with behaviour." stole the atomic bomb for the Soviet exceedingly great care and precision, Finally, and this is a most significant Union. Probably I would disagree, were Note, for example, the word "behaviour." provision, article I of the Constitution I on the bench, with most of Mr. Justice It relates to action, not merely to specifies: Doug~as ' views, such as h1s defense of the thoughts or opinions; further, it refers Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall. filthy film, "I Am Curious (Yellow) ." But not to a single act but to a pattern or not extend further than to remova\ from a judge's right to his legal views, as­ Office, and disquallfication to hold and en­ continuing sequence of action. We can­ joy any office of honor, Trust or Profit under suming they are not improperly influ­ not and should not remove a Federal the United States: but the Party convicted enced or corrupted, is fundamental to our judge for the legal views he holds-this shall nevertheless be liable and subject to system of justice. would be as contemptible as to exclude Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punish­ I should say also that I have no per­ him from serving on the Supreme Court ment, according to Law. 'sonal feeling toward Mr. Justice Douglas. for his ideology or past decisions. Nor In other words, impeachment resem­ indeed require crimes of the magnitude aspects of the behavior of Mr. Justice bles a regular criminal indictment and of treason and bribery. Other elective Douglas, and let us ask ourselves in the trial but it is not the same thing. It re­ officials such as Members of the Con­ words of Mr. Justi.ce Cardozo, whether lates solely to the accused's right to hold gress, ~re so vulnerable to public dis­ they represent "not honesty alone, but civil office; not to the many other rights pleasure that their removal by the com­ the punctilio of an honor the most which are his as a citizen and which pro­ plicated impeachment route has not even sensitive." tect him in a court of law. By pointedly been tried since 1798. But nine Federal Ralph Ginzburg is editor and pub­ voiding any immunity an accused might judges, including one Associate Jus~ice lisher of a number of magazines not claim under the double jeopardy princi­ of the Supreme Court, have been lffi­ commonly found on the family coffee ple, the framers of the Constitution peached by this House and tried by the table. For sending what was held to be clearly established that impeachment is Senate; four were acquitted; four con­ an obscene edition of one of them, Eros, a unique political device; designed ex­ victed and removed from office; and one through the U.S. mails, Mr. Ginzburg plicitly to dislodge from public office resigned during trial and the impeach­ was convicted and sentenced to 5 years' those who are patently unfit for it, but ment was dismissed. imprisonment in 1963. cannot otherwise be promptly removed. In the most recent impeachment trial His conviction was appeal ed and, in The distinction between impeachment conducted by the other body, that of U.S. 1966, was affirmed by the U.S. Supreme and ordinary climinal prosecution is Judge Halsted L. Ritter of the southern Court in a close 5-to-4 decision. Mr. Jus­ again evident when impeachment is district of Florida who was removed in tice Douglas dissented. His dissent fa­ made the sole exception to the guarantee 1936, the point of judicial behavior was vored Mr. Ginzburg and the publication, of a rticle III, section 3 tha t trial of all paramount, since the criminal charges Eros. crimes shall be by jury-perhaps the were admittedly thin. This case was in During the 1964 presidential campaign, most fundamental of all constitutional the context of F . D. R .'s effort to pack the another Ginzburg magazine, Fact, pub­ protectio ns. Supreme Court with Justices more to his lished an issue entitled "The Uncon- We must contin uall y remember that liking; Judge Rit ter was a transplanted scious of a Conservative.: A Special Issue'----­ the writers of our Constitu tion did their conservative Colorado Republican ap­ on the Mind of BARRY GoLDWATER." work with the experience of the British pointed to the Federal bench in solidly Crown and Parliament freshly in mind. Democratic Florida by President Coo­ The thrust of the two main articles There is so much that resembles the lidge. He was convicted by a coalition of in Ginzburg's magazine was that Sena­ British system in our Constitution that liberal Republicans, New Deal Demo­ tor GOLDWATER, the Republican nominee we sometimes overlook the even sharper crats, and Farmer-Labor and Progres­ for President of the United States, had a differences-one of the sharpest is our sive Party Senators in what might be severely paranoid personality and was divergen t view on impeachment. oalled the northwestern strategy of that psychological unfit to be President. In Great Britain the House of Lords era. Nevertheless, thie arguments were This was supported by a fraction of re­ sits as the court of highest appeal in the persuasive: plies to an alleged poll which the maga ­ zine h ad mailed to some 12,000 psychia­ land, and upon accusation by Commons In a joint statement, Senators Borah, the Lords can try, convict, and punish trists--hardly a scientific diagnOSiS, but La Follette, Frazier, and Shlpstead said: a potent political hatchet job. any impeached subject-private person We t herefore did not, In passing upon the or official-with any lawful penalty for facts presented to us in the m atter of the Na turally, Senator GOLD WA TER his crime-including death. impeachment proceedings against Judge promptly sued Mr. Ginzburg and Fact Our Constitution, on the contrary, pro­ Halsted L. Ritter , seek to satisfy ourselves magazine for libel. A F ederal court jury vides only the relatively mild penalties of as to wh ether technically a crime or crimes in New York granted the Sen ator a total removal from office, and disqualification h ad been committed, or as to wh eth er the of $75,000 in punitive damages from acts charged and proved disclosed crimin al Ginzburg and Fact magazine. F act fo r future offic e- the ','orst punishment Intent or corrupt m otive; we sou gh t only to the U.S . Senate can mete out is both re­ shortly was to be incorporated into an­ ascertain from these facts whether h is con­ oth er Ginzburg publication , Avant moval and disqualification. duct had been such as t o amount t o mis­ Moreover, to make sure impeachment behavior, miscondu ct- as to whet her he had Garde. The U.S. court of appeals sus­ would not be frivolously attempted or conducted himself in a way that was cal­ tained this libel award. It held that un­ easily a bused, and further to protect of­ culated t o undermin e publlc confidence in der the New York Times against Sullivan ficeholders against political reprisal, the t he courts an d to create a sense of scandal. decision a public fi gure could be libelled Constitution requires a two-thirds vote There are a great m an y things which one if the publication was made with actual must readily admit would be wh olly unbe­ malice; that is, if the publish er knew it of the Senate to convict. coming, wholly int olerable, in the conduct of With this brief review of the law, of was false or acted with reckless disregard a ju dge, an d yet t h ese t hin gs Jnight n ot of wheth er it was false or not. th e constitutional backgTound for im­ amount to a crime . . peachmen t, I h ave endeavored to correct So once again R alph Ginzburg ap­ two common misconceptions: first. that Senator Elbert Thomas of Utah, citing pealed to the Supreme Court which, in Federal judges are appointed for life and. the Jeffersonian and colonial an tecedents due course, upheld the lower courts' judg­ second, that they can be removed only by of the impeachment process, bluntly men t in favor of Sen ator GOLD WATER and being con victed. with all ordinary p ro­ declared: declined to review t he case. tections and p:esumptions of innocence T enure during good behavior .. . is In However, Mr. Justice Douglas again n o sense a guaranty of a !lfe job, and mis­ dissented on the side of Mr. Ginzberg, to which a n accused is entitled. of vio­ behavior In the ordinary, dictionary sense of alon g with Mr. J ustice Black. Although lating the law. of the t erm will cause It t o be cut short on the Cour t 's majority did not elaborate This is not th e case. Federal judges the vote, under special oath , of two- thirds on its rulin g, the dissenting minority de­ can be and h ave been impeached for im­ of the Senate, if ch arges are first brol1ght by cision was based on the theory that the proper personal habits such as chronic the House of Represen tatives. .. To &8 - constitutional guarantees of free speech intoxication on the bench , and one of the Slmle that good behavior m eans anything but good behavior would be to cast a refl ection and free press are absolute. charges brought against P resident An­ This decision was handed down J anu­ drew J oh nson was that he delivered "in­ u pon the ability of the fathers to express themselves in understandable language. ary 26, 1970. tempera te, infta mma tory. and scandal­ Yet, while the Ginzberg-Goldwater ous ha rangues." But the best summary. in my opinion, suit was pending in the Federal courts, I h ave studied the principal impeach­ was th at of Senator William G . McAdoo clearly h eaded for the highest court in ment actions that have been initiated of California, son-in-law of Woodrow the land, Mr. Justice Douglas appeared\ over the years and frankly. there a re too Wilson and Secretary of the Treasury :' as the author of an article in Avant few cases to m ake very good law. About I approach th is subject from t he stnnd­ Garde, the successor to Fact in the Ginz­ the only thing th e authorities can agree p oint of the general conduct of this ju dge berg stable of magazines, and reportedly upon in recent history, though it was while on the ben ch, as portrayed by t he accepted p~t fro~ Ginz~~~r. it . h otly argued up to President Johnson's varioLls counts in t h e impeach ment and the The March 1969 issue OI:AVallf daroe, on impeachment and the trial of Judge evidence submitted in t h e trial. The picture S wayne. is th a t an offense Heed not be thus presented is, to m y mind, that of a its t itle page, shows Ralph Ginzburg as indictable to be impeach able. In other m an who is so lacking in any proper concep­ editor stating under oath that it incor­ wordS, something less th an a criminal tion of professional e th ics and those h igh pora tes the fonner magazine Fact. act or criminal dereliction of duty may standards of judicial character and conduct The table of contents, lists on page as to constitu te m isbeh avior in Its m ost seri­ 16 an article titled "Appeal of Folk Sing­ n ever theless be sufficient grounds for im­ ous aspects, and to render h im u n fit to hold peach ment and removal from public ing: A Landmark Opinion" by Justice a judicial office . .. William O. Douglas. Even his judicial offic e. Good behavior . as it is u sed in th e Con­ t itle, conferred on only eight other Amer- What. then, is an i l11 ~ ch able offense? stit ution . exacts of a judge t h e h igh est standards of public a nd private rectitude. icans, i . brazenly exploited. ' The only honest a nswer is th at an im­ No judge can b esmirch t he r obes he wears Justice Douglas' contribution imme­ peachable offense is whatever a majority by relaxing t h ese standards, b y compromis­ diately follows one provocatively entitled of the House of Representatives considers Ing t hem t hrough conduct which brings re­ "The Decline and Fall of the Female to be at a given moment in history; con­ p roach upon himself personally, or upon t h e Breast." There are two other titles in the viction results from wh atever offense or great offi ce h e h olds. No m ore sacred trust table of contents so vulgarly playing on off enses two- thirds of the other body is committed to the bench of the United double m eaning that I will not repeat S tates t h an to keep shining with undim med considers to be sufficiently serious to re­ effulgen ce the brightest jewel in t h e crown them aloud. quire removal of the accused from o ffic ~ . of d emocracy-justice. Ralph Ginzbw'g's magazine Avant Again, the historical context and POlltl­ However disagreeable t he duty m ay b e to Garde paid the Associate Justice of the cal climate are important; there are few t h ose of u s wh o constit u t e this great b ody U.S. Supreme Cow1; the sum of $350 for fixed principles among the h andful of in determining the guilt of those who are his article on folk singing. The article precedents. en t rusted under the Constitution with t h e itself is not pornographic, although it I think it is fa ir to come to one con­ high respon slbllitles of Judicial ollice, we praises the lusty, lurid, and risque along clusion, h owever, from our history of must be as exactin g in our conception of the with the social protest of leftwing folk impeachments: a higher standard is ex­ obligations of a judicial ollicer as Mr. Justice singers. It ill a matter of editorial judg­ Cardozo defined them when he said , In con­ pected of F ederal judges than of any n ection wit h fiduciaries, that they should ment whether it was worth the $350. other " civil officers" of the United States. be h eld "to somet hing stricter than the Ginzburg claims he paid Justice Douglas The President and Vice President, an d m orals of the m arket-place. Not honesty for writing it. I would think, however, all persons h olding offi ce a t the pleasure alon e, but t he punctilio Of an honor the that a byline clear across the page read- t of th e President, can be thrown out of m ost se n si t 'ive, i s then the standar d Of be­ ing "By William O. Douglas, Associate I office by the voters a t least every 4 years. hav ior." (Melnhard v. Solmon, 249 N.Y. Justice, U.S. Supreme Court" and a full To remove them in midterm-it h as been 458.) page picture would be worth something tried only twice and never done-would Let us now objectively examine certain to a publisher and a magazine with two appeals pending in the U.S. courts. establishment activism, violent defiance not have prevented the publication of However, Mr. Justice Douglas did not of pOlice and public authorities, and his writings in such a place if he wanted disqualify himself from taking part in even the revolutionary restructuring of to, especially after widespread criticism the Goldwater against Ginzburg libel American society-does he not suppose of his earlier contributions to less ob­ appeal. Had the decision been a close that these confrontations and those ac­ jectionable magazines. 5-to-4 split, as was the earlier one, Ginz­ cused of unlawfully taking part in them No, Mr. Justice Douglas has been tell­ burg might have won with Douglas' vote. will not come soon before the Supreme ing us something and this time he wanted Actually, neither the quantity of the Court? By his own book, the Court surely to make it perfectly clear. His blunt mes­ sum that changed hands nor the position will have to rule on many such cases. sage to the American people and their taken by the Court's majority or the size I ask you, will Mr. Justice Douglas Representatives in the Congress of the of the majority makes a bit of difterence then disqualify himself because of a bias ·United states is that he does not give a in the gross impropriety involved. previously expressed, and published for tinker's damn what we think of him and Title 28, United states Code, section profit? Will he step aside as did a liberal his behaviour on the Bench. He believes jurist of the utmost personal integrity, he sits there by some divine right and 455 states as follows: that he can do and say anything he Any justice or judge of the United Sta tes Chief Justice Warren, whenever any re­ should disqualify himself In any case In mote chance of confiict of interest arose? pleases without being questioned and which he has a substantial interest, has been Not if we may judge by Mr. Justice Doug­ with complete immunity. of counsel, Is or has been a material witness, las' action in the Ginzburg appeals, he Does he really believe this? Whatever or is so related to or connected with any will not. else one may say, Mr. Justice Douglas party or his at torney as to render it Improper, When I first encountered the facts of does know the Constitution, and he In his opinion. for him to sit on the trial, ap­ Mr. Justice Douglas' involvement with knows the law of impeachment. Would peal or other proceeding therein. pornographic publications and espousal it not, I ask you, be much more reason­ Let me ask each one of you: Is this of hippie-yippie style revolution, I was able to suppose that Mr. Justice Douglas what the Constitution means by "good inclined to dismiss his fractious behavior is trying to shock and outrage us-but behaviour"? Should such a person sit on as the first sign of senility. But I believe for his own reasons. our Supreme Court? I underestimated the Justice. Suppose his critics concentrate on his Writing signed articles for notorious In case there aTe any "square" Amer­ outrageous opinions, expressed oft the publications of a convicted pornographer icans who were too stupid to get the mes­ Bench, in books and magazines that is bad enough. Taking money from them sage Mr. Justice Douglas was trying to share, with their more reputable cousins, is worse. Declining to disqualify one's tell us, he has now removed all possible the constitutional protections of free self in this case is inexcusable. misunderstanding. speech and free press. Suppose his im­ Here is the April 1970 current edition peachment is predicated on these But this is only the beginning of the grounds alone-will not the accusers of insolence by which Mr. Justice Douglas of a magazine innocently entitled "Ever­ has evidently decided to sully the high green." Mr. Justice Douglas be instantly branded, standards of his profession and defy the Perhaps the name has some secret as we already are in his new book-as conventions and convictions of decent erotic significance, because otherwise it the modern Adolf Hitlers, the book­ burners, the defoliators of the tree of Americans. may be the only clean word in this pub­ lication. I am simply unable to describe iiberty. Recently, there has appeared on the the prurient advertisements, the per­ Let us not be caught in a trap. There stands a little black book with the auto­ verted suggestions, the downright filthy is a prima facie case against Mr. Justice graph, "William O. Douglas," scrawled on illustrations and the shocking and exe­ Douglas that i.&-in my judgment-far the cover in red. Its title is "Points of crable four-letter language it employs. more grave. There is prima facie evidence Rebellion" and its thesis is that violence Alongside of Evergreen the old Avant that he was for nearly a decade the well- • may be justified and perhaps only revo­ Garde is a family publicllltion. paid moonlighter for an organization lutionary overthrow of "the establish­ Just for a sample, here is an article by whose ties to the international gambling ment" can save the country. Tom Hayden of the "Chicago 5." It is fraternity never have been SUfficiently The kindest thing I can say about this titled "Repression and Rebellion." It pos­ explored. 97-page tome' is that it is quick reading. sibly is somewhat more temperate than Are these longstanding connections, Had it been written by a militant sopho­ the published views of Mr. Justice Doug­ personal, professional, and profitable, the more, as it easily could, it would of course las, but no matter. have never found a prestige publisher skeleton in the closet which Mr. Justice Next we come to a 7-page rotogravure Douglas would like to divert us from like Random House. It is a fuzzy haran­ section of 13 half-page photographs. It gue evidently intended to give historic looking into? What would bring an As­ starts oft with a relatively unobjection­ sociate Justice of the Supreme Court legitimacy to the militant hippie-yippie able arty nude. But the rest of the dozen movement and -to bea.x..testimon- that a into any sort of relationship with some poses"'are--hard-eore pomography--of~the OIthe mos unsavory anarwtorious ele­ 71-year-old Justice of the Supreme kind the U.S. Supreme Court's recent de ... Court is one in spirit with them. ments of American society? What, after cisions 'now permit to be sold to your some of this became public knowledge, Now, it is perfectly clear to me that children and mine on almost every news­ holds him still in truculent defiance the fi rst amendment protects the right stand. There are nude models of both bordering upon the irrational? of Mr. Justice Douglas and his publishers sexes in poses that are :Perhaps more For example, there is the curious and to write and print this drivel if they shocking than the postcards that used to please. profitable relationship which Mr. Justice be sold only in the back alleys of Paris Douglas enjoyed, for nigh onto a decade. Mr. Justice Douglas is constitutionally and Panama City, Panama. and otherwise entitled to believe, though Immediately following the most ex­ with Mr. Albert Parvin and a mysteri­ it is difficult to understand how a grown plicit of these photographs, on pages 40 ous entity known as the Parvin Founda­ man can, that "a black silence of fear and 41, we find a full-page caricature of tion. possesses the Nation," and that "every the President of the United States, made Albert Parvin was born in Chicago conference room in Government build­ to look like Britain's King George III and around the turn of the century, but little ings is assumed to be bugged." waiting, presumably, for the second is known of his life until he turns up as One wonders how this enthusiastic American Revolution to begin on Boston president and 30-percent owner of Hotel traveler inside the Iron Curtain is able Common, or is it Berkeley? Flamingo, Inc., which operated the hotel to warn seriously against alleged Wash­ This cartoon, while not very respectful and gambling casino in Las Vegas, Nev. ington hotel rooms equipped with two­ toward Mr. Nixon, is no worse than we It was first opened by Bugsy Siegel in way mirrors and microphones, or accuse see almost daily in a local newspaper and 1946, a year before he was murdered. the "powers that be" of echoing Adolf all alone might be legitimate political Bugsy's contract for decorations and Hilter. Frankly, this is nonsense, but cer­ parody. But it is there to illustrate an furnishings of the Flamingo was with tainly not the only nonsense being print­ article on the opposite page titled much Albert Parvin & Co. Between Siegel and ed nowadays. like Tom Hayden's "Redress and Revolu­ Parvin there were three other heads, or But I wonder if it can be deemed "good tion." titular heads, of the Flamingo. After the behaviour" in the constitutional sense This article is authored "by the vener­ gangland rubout of Siegel in Los for such a distorted diatribe against the able Supreme Court Justice," William O. Angeles, Sanford Adler-who was a Government of the United States to be Douglas. It consists of the most extreme partner with Albert Parvin in another published, indeed publicly autographed excerpts from this book, given a some­ gambling establishment, El Rancho, and promoted, by an Associate Justice what more seditious title. And it states took over. He subsequently fied to Mex­ the... SJIDreme Courtc.--______plainly~ the margin: ico to escape income tax charges and the Flamingo passed into the hands of There are, as the book says, two ways Copyright 1970 by W1Iliam O. Douglas ... by which the grievances of citizens can Reprinted by permission. one Gus Greenbaum. Greenbaum one day had a sudden be redressed. One is lawful procedure and Now you may be able to tell me that it one is violent protest, riot, and revolu­ urge to go to Cuba and was later mur­ is permisSible for someone to write such dered. Next Albert Parvin teamed' up tion. Should a judge who sits at the stuft, and this being a free country I pinnacle of the orderly System of justice with William Israel Alderman-known give sympathetic encouragement, on the agree. You may tell me that nude couples as Ice Pick Willie-to head the Fla­ side, to impressionable' young students cavorting in photographs are art, and mingo. But Alderman soon was oft to and hard-core fanatics who espouse the that morals are a matter of opinion, and the Riviera and Parvin took over. militant method? I think not. that such stuft is lawful to publish and On May 12, 1960, Parvin signed a send through the U.S. mails at a postage contract with Meyer Lansky, one of the In other words, I concede that William rate subsidized .by the taxpayers. I dis­ country's top gangsters, paying Lansky O. Douglas has a right to write and pub­ agree, but maybe I am old fashioned. what was purportedly a finder's fee of lish what he pleases; but I SUggest that But you cannot tell me that an Asso­ $200,000 in the sale of the Flamingo. for Associate Justice Douglas to put his ciate Justice of the United States is The agreement stipulated that payment name to such an inflammatory volume as compelled to give his permission to re­ would be made to Lansky in quarterly "Points of Rebellion"-at a critical time print his name and his title and his installments of $6,250 starting in 1961. in our history when peace and order is writings in a pornographic magazine If kept, final payment of the $200,000 what we need-is less than judicial good with a portfolio of obscene photographs would have been in October 1968. behavior. It is more serious than simply on one side of it and a literary admoni­ Parvin and the other owners sold the "a summation of conventional liberal tion to get a gun and start shooting at Flamingo for a reported $10,500,000 to poppycock," as one columnist wrote. the first white face you see on the other. a group including Florida hotelmen Whatever Mr. Justice Douglas may You cannot tell me that an Associate Morris Lansburgh, Samuel Cohen, and have meant by his justification of anti- Justice of the U.s. Supreme. Court-could Daniel Lifter. His attorney in the deal was Edward Levinson, who has been Also on hand in Santo Domingo to Nevada city, and in 1969 was denied per­ associated with Parvin in a number of celebrate Bosch's taking up the reins of mission by Nevada to buy the Riviera enterprises. The Nevada Gaming Com­ power were Mr. Albert Parvin, President Hotel and took over operation of the mission approved the sale on June 1. of the Parvin-Dohrmann Co., and the Stardust Hotel. This brought an investi­ 1960. President of the Albert Parvin Founda­ gation which led to the suspension of In November of 1960, Parvin set up the tion, Mr. Justice William O. Douglas of trading in Parvin-Dohrmann stock by Albert Parvin Foundation. Accounts vary the U.S. Supreme Court. the SEC, which led further to the com­ as to whether it was funded with Fla­ Again there is confiicting testimony as pany's employment of Nathan Voloshen. mingO Hotel stock or with a first mort­ But in the interim Albert Parvin is said gage on the Flamingo taken under the to the reason for Mr. Justice Douglas' presence in the Dominican Republic at to have been bought out of the company terms of the sale. At any rate the foun­ this juncture, along with Parvin, Levin­ and to have retired to concentrate on his dation was incorporated in New York and son, and Bobby Baker. Obviously he was foundation, from which Mr. Justice Mr. Justice Douglas assisted in setting it not there as an official representative of Douglas had been driven to resign by re­ up, according to Parvin. If the Justice the United States, as he was not in the lentless publicity. did indeed draft the articles of incorpo­ Vice President's party. On May 12, 1969, Mr. Justice Douglas ration, it was in patent violation of title One story is that the Parvin Founda­ reportedly wrote a letter to Albert Par­ 28, section 454, United States Code, which tion was offering to finance an educa­ vin in which he discussed the pending states that "any justice or judge ap­ tional television project for the Domini­ action by the Internal Revenue Service pointed under the authority of the United can Republic. Another is that Mr. Justice to revoke the foundation's tax-exempt States who engages in the practice of law Douglas was there to advise President status as a "manufactured case" de­ is guilty of a high misdemeanor." Bosch on writing a new Constitution for signed to pressure him off the Supreme Please note that this offense is spe­ the Dominican Republic. - Court. In this letter, as its contents were cifically stated in the Federal statute There is little about the reasons be­ paraphrased by the New York Times, to be a high misdemeanor, making it hind the presence of a Singularly large Mr. Justice Douglas apparently offered conform to one of the constitutional contingent of known gambling figures legal advice to Mr. Parvin as to how to grounds for impeachment. There is ad­ and Mafia types in Santo Domingo, how­ avoid future difficulties with the Internal ditional evidence that Mr. Justice Doug­ ever. With the change of pOlitical re­ Revenue Service, and this whole episode las later, while still on salary, gave legal gimes the rich gambling concessions of demands further examination under advice to the Albert Parvin Foundation the Dominican Republic were up for oath by a committee with subpena on dealing with an Internal Revenue powers. grabs. These were generally not owned When things got too hot on the Su­ investigation. and operated by the hotels, but were The ostensible purpose of the Parvin preme Court for Justices accepting large granted to concessionaires by the gov­ sums of money from private foundations Foundation was declared to be educat­ ernment-specifically by the President. ing the developing leadership 1n Latin for ill-defined services, Mr. Justice Doug­ It was one of the country's most' lucra­ las finally gave up his open ties with the America. This had not previously been tive sources of revenue as well as private Albert Parvin Foundation. Although re­ a known concern of Parvin or his Las corruption. This brought such known signing as its president and giving up his Vegas associates, but Cuba, where some gambling figures as Parvin and Levin­ $12,OOO-a-year salary, Mr. Justice Doug­ of them had business connections, was son, Angelo Bruno and John Simone, Jo­ las moved immediately into closer con­ then in the throes of Castro's Commu­ seph Sicarelli, Eugene Pozo, Santa Traf­ nection with the leftish Center for the nist revolution. ficante Jr., Louis Levinson, Leslie Earl Study of Democratic Institutions. In 1961 Mr. Justice Douglas was named Kruse, and Sam Giancanno to the island a life member of the Parvin Foundation's .in the spring of 1963. The center is located in Santa Barbara, board, elec~r~t and voted a sal­ Bobby Baker, in addition to serving as Calif., and is run by Dr. Robert M. Hut­ l'.ry of $12~OO O'1Jer year plus expenses. go-between for his Las Vegas friends such chins, former head of the University of There is some conflict in testimony as to as Ed Levinson, was personally interested Chicago. how long Douglas drew his pay, but he in concessions for vending machines of A longtime "consultant" and member did not put a stop to it until last May- his Serv-U Corp., then represented by of the board of directors of the center, 1969-in the wake of public revelations Washington Attorney Abe Fortas. Baker Mr. Justice Douglas was elevated last that forced the resignation of Mr. Justice has described Levinson as a former December to the post of chairman of the Fortas. partner. executive committee. It should be noted The Parvin Foundation in 1961 under­ Mrs. Fortas, also an attorney, was sub­ that the Santa Barbara Center was a took publication of Mr. Justice Douglas' sequently to be retained as tax counsel beneficiary of Parvin Foundation funds 'book, "America's Challenge," with costs by the Parvin Foundation. Her fee is not during the same period that Mr. Justice borne by the foundation but royalties exactly known but that year the founda­ Douglas was receiving $1,000 a month going to the author. tion spent $16,058 for professional serv­ salary from it and Mobster Meyer Lansky In April 1962 the Parvin Foundation ices. was drawing down installment payments applied for tax-exempt status. And There are reports that Douglas met of $25,000 a year. In addition to Douglas, thereafter some very interesting things with Bosch and other officials of the new there are several others who serve on happened. government in February or early March both the Parvin Foundation and Center On October 22, 1962, Bobby Baker of 1963, and also that he met with Bobby for Democratic Studies boards, so the turned up in Las Vegas for a 3-day stay. Baker and with Albert Parvin. In April break was not a very sharp one. His hotel bill was paid by Ed Levinson, 1963, Baker and Ed Levinson returned to The gentleman from New Hampshire Parvin's associate and sometime at­ the Dominican Republic and in that same (Mr. WYMAN ) has investigated Mr. Jus­ torney. On Baker's registration card a month the Albert Parvin Foundation was tice Douglas' connections with the center hotel employee had noted-"is with granted its tax-exempt status by the'In­ and discovered that the Associate Jus­ Douglas." ternal Revenue Service. tice has been receiving ,money from it, Bobby was then, of course, majority In June, I believe it was June 20, Bobby both during the time he was being paid secretary of the Senate and widely re­ Baker and Ed Levinson traveled to New by Parvin and even larger sums since. garded as the right hand of ,the then York where Baker introduced Levinson The distinguished gentleman, who Vice President of the United States. So to Mr. John Gates of the Intercontinental served as attorney general of his State it is unclear whether the note meant Hotel Corp. Mr. Gates has testified that and chairman of the American Bar As­ literally that Mr. Justice Douglas was Levinson was interested in the casino SOCiation's committee on jurisprudence also visiting Las Vegas at that time or concession in the Ambassador-El Em­ before coming to the House, will detail whether it meant only to identify Baker bajador-Hotel in Santo Domingo. My his findings later. But one activity of the as a Douglas associate. information is that Baker and Levinson center requires inclusion here because it In December 1962, I have learned, made at least one more trip to the Domin­ provides some explanation for Mr. Jus­ Bobby Baker met with Juan Bosch, soon ican Republic about this time but that, tice Douglas' curious obsession with the to be President of the Dominican Re­ despite all this influence peddling, the current wave of violent youthful rebel­ public, in New York City. gambling franchise was not granted to lion. In January 1963 the Albert Parvin the Parvin-Levinson-Lansky interests In 1965 the S"anta Barbara Center, Foundation decided to drop all its Latin after all. which is tax exempt and ostensibly American projects and to concentrate on In August, Pres.(dent Bosch awarded serves as a scholarly retreat, sponsored the Dominican Republic. Douglas de­ the concession to Cliff Jones, former and financed the National Conference scribed President-elect Bosch as an old Lieutenant Governor of Nevada who, in­ for New Politics which was, in effect, the friend. cidentally, also was an associate of Bobby birth of the New Left as a political move­ On February 26, 1963, however, we find Baker. ment. Two years later, in August 1967, Bobby Baker and Ed Levinson together When this happened, the further in­ the Center was the site of a very signif­ again-this time on the other side of the terest of the Albert Parvin Foundation icant conference of militant student continent in Florida-buying round-trip in the Dominican Republic abruptly leaders. Here plans were laid for the tickets on the same plane for the Domin­ ceas ed. I am told that some of the edu­ violent campus disruptions of the past ican Republic. cational television equipment already de­ few years, and the students were ex­ Since the Parvin Foundation was set livered was simply abandoned in its origi­ horted by at least one member of the up to develop leadership in Latin Amer­ nal crates. center's staff to s~botage American so­ ica, Trujillo had been toppled from On September 25, 1963, President Bosch ciety, block defense work by universities, power in a bloody uprising, and Juan was ousted and all deals were off. He was immobilize computerized record systems Bosch was about to be inaugurated as later to lead a comeback effort with Com­ and discredit the ROTC. the new, liberal President. Officially rep­ munist support which resulted in Presi­ This session at Mr. Justice Douglas' resenting the United States at the cere­ dent Johnson's dispatch of U.S. Marines second moonlighting base was thus the monies February 27 were the Vice Presi­ to the Dominican Republic. birthplace for the very excesses which he dent and Mrs. Johnson. But their Air Meanwhile,. through the Parvin-Dohr­ applauds in his latest book in these Force plane was loaded with such celeb­ mann Co. which he had acquired, Albert words : rities as Senator and Mrs. Humphrey, Parvin bought the Fremont Hotel in Las Where grievances pile high and most or two Assistant Secretaries of State, Mr. Vegas in 1966 from Edward Levinson the elected spokesmen represent the Estab­ and Mrs. Valenti, and Mrs. Elizabeth and Edward Torres, for some $16 million. lishmen t , violence may be the only effeotlve Carpenter. Bobby Baker and Eddie In 1968, Parvin-Dohrmann acquired the response. Levinson went commercial. Aladdin Hotel and casino in the same Mr. Speaker, we are the elected spokesmen upon whom the Associate and the Wolfson Family Foundation, public confidence in the Supreme Court. Justice of the Supreme Court is attempt­ Louis Wolfson's troubles with the SEC That is the easiest to answer. Publ1c con­ ing to place the blame for violent re­ and Wolfson's $20,OOO-a-year retainer to fidence in the U.S. Supreme Court dimin­ bellion in this country. What he means Associate Justice Fortas? Why, the cast ishes every day that Mr. Justice Douglas by representing the establishment I do of characters in these two cases is vir­ remains on it. not know, except that he and his young tually interchangeable. Finally, I have-been asked, and I have hothead revolutionaries regard it as evil. Albert Parvin was named a coconspir­ asked myself, whether or not I should I know very well who I represent, how­ ator but not a defendant in the stock stand here and impeach Mr. Justice ever, and if the patriotic and law abiding manipulation case that &ent Louis Wolf­ Douglas on my own constitutional re­ and hard-working and God-fearing peo­ son to prison. Albert Parvin was again sponsibility. I believe, on the basis of ple of America are the establishment, I under investigation in the stock manipu­ my own investigation and the facts I am proud to represent such an establish­ lation action against Parvin-Dohnnann. . have set before you, that he is unfit and ment. This generation has largely forgotten should be removed. I would vote to im­ Perhaps it is appropriate to examine that William O. Douglas first rose to ·na­ peach him right now. at . this point who Mr. Justice Douglas tional prominence as Chairman of the But we are dealing here with a solemn represents. On the basis of the facts Securities an