' _ However, Se ee a ee | | :| Justice Douglas states reasons for dissent Deep in my heart | know I am right on the law’ WASHINGTON On the basis of what was’ said, the U.S. Supreme Court divided 6 to 3 Friday in over-turning the Stay of execution granted to Julius and Ethel Rosenberg by Justice William 0. Douglas. But the court’s records will show six for overturning it, two dissents, “and an opinion by Mr. Jus- tice Frankfurter.” Supreme Court justices usually specify at the top of their printed opinions whether they aré ‘dissenting from or concurring with the majority, but Frank- furter frejuently does not follow this custom. He did not do on this Occasion. Frankfurter’s. opin- lon said he believed the appli- cation by Attorney General Brow- Nell to set aside the stay should not be disposed of until attorneys for both sides had been given a Chance to make “an adequate Study” of the law issues involved. € majority, by lifting the stay, Cleared the way for.execution of the Rosenbergs — a step which Frankfurter specifically opposed. Is statement therefore is gen- erally construed as a dissent. Following is the text of Justice Ouglas’ dissent to the Supreme Court action in setting aside the Stay of execution he granted the Rosenbergs: hen hen the motion for a stay was b fore me, I was deeply troubled Y the legal question tendered. ter 12 hours of | research and aid. T concluded, as my opinion dicated, that the question was x Substantial question never pres- nted to this court and-never de- Sided by any court. So I issued the Stay: 2 Now | have had the benefit .°f an additional argument and additional study and reflection. °w I know that I am right °n the law. fee Solicitor General says in ment argument that the govern- OU Ao ue have been laughed this ae if the indictment in ‘ ad been laid under the 7S Energy Act of 1946. I ar For a part of the crime al- act pend proved antedate that uae nd obviously no criminal atute can have retroactive ap- Plication. But the Solicitor Gen- etal misses the legal point on Which my stay was. ordered. It Was this—whether or not the death penalty. can be imposed Without a recommendation of the ae for a crime involving the dis- sure of atomic secrets where meat of that crime takes place €r the effective date of the tomic Energy Act. Win, PU ET PACIFIC ROOFING Company Limited — CE 2733 2509 West Broadway N. Bitz» - B. Kostyk Nea) LUT Mee Me er Uy i The crime of the Rosenbergs was a conspiracy that started prior to the Atomic Energy Act and continued almost 4 years after the efefctive date of that act. The overt acts alleged were acts which took place prior to the effective date of the new act. But this is irrele- vant for two reasons. First, acts in pursuance of the ‘conspiracy were proved which took place af- ter the new act became law. Sec- ond, under Singer v. United States, 323 U.S. 338, no overt acts were necessary; the crime was com- plete when the conspiracy was proved. And that conspiracy, as defined in the indictment itself, |. endured almost 4 years after the JUSTICE W. 0. DOUGLAS Atomic Energy Act became effec- tive. The crime therefore took place in substantial part after the new act became effective, after Con- gress had written new penalties for conspiracies to disclose atomic ‘secrets. One of the new require- ments is that the death penalty for that kind of espionage can be imposed only if the jury recom- mends it. And here there was no such recommendation. To be sure, this: espionage included more than atomic secrets. But there can be no doubt that the death pen- alty was imposed because of the Rosenbergs’ disclosure of atomic secrets. The trial judge, in sen- tencing the Rosenbergs to death, emphasized that, the heinous char- acter of their crime was trafftick- ing in atomic secrets. He said: “Tt believe your conduct in put- ting into the hands of the Rus- sians the A-bomb years before our best scientists predicted Russia would perfect the bomb has al- ready caused, in my opinion, the Communist aggression in Korea, with the resultant casualties ex- ceeding 59,000 and who knows but that ‘millions more of- innocent | people may pay the price of your treason. Indeed, by your betrayal you undoubtedly have altered the course of history to the disadvan- tage of our country.” But Congress in 1946 adopted new criminal sanctions for such crimes. Whether: Congress was. wise or unwise in doing so is no question for us. The cold truth is that the death sentence may not be imposed for what the Rosen- bergs did unless the jury so re- commends. Some .say, howeven, that since a part of the Rosenbergs’ crime was committed under the old law, the penalties of the old law apply. But it is law too elemen- tal for citation of authority that where two penal statutes may apply—one carrying death, the other imprisonment—the court has no choice but to impose the less harsh sentence. A suggestion is made that the question comes too, late, that since the Rosenbergs did not raise this question on appeal, they are har- red from raising it now. But the question of an unlawful sentence is never barred. No man or womaf should go to death under an un- lawful sentence merely because his lawyers failed to raise the point. It is that function among others that the Great Writ serves. I adhere to the views stated. by Chief Justice Hughes for a unani- mous court in Bowen v. Johnston, 306 U.S. 19, 26-27. “Tt must never be forgotten that the writ of habeas corpus is the precious safeguard of personal liberty: and there is no higher duty than to maintain‘ it unim- paired. Exparte lang spura. The rule requiring resort to the ap- pellate procedure when -the trial court has determind its own juris- diction of an offense is not a rule denying the power to issue a writ of habaes corpus when it appears that nevertheless the trial court was without jurisdiction. The rule is‘not one defining power but one which relates to the appropriat exercise of power.” . Here the trial court was. with- out jurisdiction to impose a. death penalty, since the jury had not recommended it. Before the present argument, 1 knew* only that the question was serious and _ substantial. Now I am sure of the answer. | know deep in-my heart that | am right on the law. Knowing that, my duty is clear. PATRONIZE | NORTH WEST FUEL BEST QUALITY — SATISFACTION GUARANTEED Fairly Dry and Very Clean HEAVY MILLRUN: 2 CORDS, $8 HEAVY SLABS: 2 CORDS, $10. PLANER ENDS: FRESH CUT CLEAN FIR SAWDUST By Blower, 3 Units, $10. Phone CE. 3226 - North 3224 1% CORDS, $10 ZENITH CAFE 105 BE. Hastings Street VANCOUVER, B.C. UNION HOUSE Vancouver _.. Second Hand Store @ Stove Parts and Repairs @ sed Plumbing Supplies Tools Kitchenware 5388 MAIN ST. PAcific 8457 _ LA | me (0000006 | 10 Irish Internationals lost ‘to Liverpool in their recent game at Toronto —one of the only three games lost by the Irish team in their North American tour. THE SPORTLIGHT _ By BERT WHYTE ANDS Across the Border was a. great slogan in the days of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, when it meant hands of friendship. Today, under President Eisen- hower, Yankee hands. stretched across the border into our coun- try are only intent on grabbing our natural resources: To do this these Yankee hands stick their dirty fingers into Canadian pol- itics; the crooked hands of a Senator McCarthy try to write our laws, or threaten Canadians “with neprisals if our laws are not , patterned after those of Washington. American dictation extends to the field of sports, as witness the case of Nortown Tri-Bells, Can- ada’s championship basketball team. Invited to compete in the international basketball tourna- ment sponsored by the World Friendly Games at the World Youth Festival in Bucharest, Rumania, this coming August, Tri-Bell players were all set to accept the invitation — until hints were dropped from Wash- ington that if they did, their players might be barred from entering the United States in the future. Champion, Canada’s leading youth paper, features the invi- tation extended to Tri-Bells in its current issue. “The Prepara- tory Committee for the World Youth Festival has agreed to pay the entire expenses of bringing ' Canada’s top basketball team to Bucharest,” says Champion, but adds: “A problem raised by Tri-Bells coach Paul Thomas was, the fear that some, of the players had about being refused entry into the United States if they went to Bucharest. “Young Canadians would very much like to see the Tri-Bells go to Bucharest and win honors for our country. If they go, it is very likely they will be play- ing exhibition games in a num- ber of countries besides Rumania. “The general feeling is also that no Canadian team should have to bow to the wishes of the United States in deciding where it will travel and where it will play.” * Re ete In Bucharest they have just put. the finishing touches to Dynamo Stadium, which seats 40,000 and will be used during the World Friendly Games.eA bigger sta- dium, to seat 80,000, is now in the process of completion. It will have full facilities for all the sports you can mention. * * * Ignored by the local daily press was the story of the recent Eu- ropean boxing championships held under the auspices of the International Amateur Boxing Association. Newsworthy was the fact that Poland won five of the 10 finals, competing with the best boxers of 19 countries. Countries participating were: Austria, Belgium, .Czechoslovak- ia, England, Finland, France, the German Democratic Republic, Hungry, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Rumania, Scotland, Sweden, the USSR, Wales, Western Germany and Yugoslavia. * * 3 B.C. girl sprinters hoping to represent Canada in the British Empire Games here next year had better sharpen up. Last Sat- urday the Quebec women’s track and field championships were held in Montreal, and two re- cords for the 100-yard dash were shattered. Joan Wood of the Montreal Olympic ‘Club won the _inter- mediate event in 11.3 seconds, one-tenth of a second better than the previous Canadian mark, while Rosella Thorne of the same club shaved a tenth of a second off. the senior mark, covering the 100 yards in 11.0, PACIFIC TRIBUNE — JUNE 26, 1953 — PAGE 11