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The Jenner-Butler Bill (S. 2646) was a bill proposed in the 85th United States Congress in 1958,[1] which was a backlash against the Supreme Court's rulings that protected the rights of those charged with subversive activities.[2] The bill was initially proposed by Senator William E. Jenner and then subsequently amended by Senator John Marshall Butler in order to pass committee stage.[3] Provisions of the bill included measures to restore full investigative authority to congressional committees and full enforceability of state sedition laws (which had been limited by Watkins v. United States and Pennsylvania v. Nelson respectively), revive the Smith Act that had been used to prosecute Communist Party activists, and reduce the apellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court so it could not hear cases on related areas.[2]
Jenner Bill[edit]
The Jenner bill included removing the Supreme Court's jurisdiction on matters relating to congressional committees, federal employee security regulations, state and local subversion laws, and state rules on bar admission.[3] This would have left lower federal courts or state courts as the final arbiters of the constitution in those areas.[3]
The bill stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee,
As Jefferson B. Fordham noted, the bill "died in the Senate after major surgery in committee".[1]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Jefferson B. Fordham (January 1961). "Review: The People and the Court by Charles L. Black, Jr". The Yale Law Journal. 70 (3): 481–489. doi:10.2307/794441. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
- ^ a b C. Herman Pritchett (2005). "Jenner-Butler Bill". In Hall, Kermit L. (ed.). The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- ^ a b c Anthony Lewis (25 March 1958). "Revised Bill Aims At Supreme Court: Butler Offers Changes in Jenner Plan - Judiciary Unit's Backing Claimed". The New York Times. p. 19. Retrieved 10 March 2024. ProQuest 114608274