Constitutional Law in 1951–1952

Abstract

The 1951 Term of the Supreme Court, during which there was no change in its makeup, continued to exhibit the behavior pattern of the previous Term, both in the mechanics of operation and the drift of decision. The work of the Truman Court is a compound of new Justices and the shifting concatenation of historical forces. It operates amidst the strains and tensions of the Cold War. The leading cases of this Term, dealing with such subjects as presidential seizure of private property, the treatment of aliens, by-products of the trials of Communists, and the pressure on civil liberties generally, all reflect the push of current history.The total number of dispositions during the 1951 Term, 1207, was almost the same as the number for the 1950 Term, which was 1202. There were only 83 signed opinions, as compared with 98 in the 1950 Term and 87 in the 1949 Term. Twenty-five years ago the number of signed opinions averaged around 200 per Term. The reduction in the number of signed opinions was matched by a growing number of dispositions on the merits by memorandum order. The Court disposed of 200 cases on the merits; 101 came up by appeal (in about equal numbers from the federal district courts and the state courts) and 99 reached the Court on certiorari (72 from the federal Courts of Appeals, 24 from state courts, and 2 from the Court of Claims). The Court continued to keep a tight rein on its discretionary jurisdiction.