THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION TODAY-IMPORTANT DECISIONS OF THE SUPREME COURT IN THE LAST EIGHT YEARS 1937-1944 INCLUSIVE

In recent years one often hears lawyers say that the Constitution is gone; or one hears them echo the remark of Charles E. Hughes, made while he was Governor of New York, "We are under a Constitution, but the Constitution is what the judges say it is," and then perhaps add that lawyers can no longer determine with any assurance what the judges will do or will say the Constitution is. Such expressions and reactions are not unnatural in any period of rapid doctrinal change. All contain a large element of truth. Certainly much of the Constitutional Law is gone which was taught to all of us who graduated from law school before 1937.

Equally clear is the fact that the personalities and attitudes of judges do shape their decisions; if no other historical material were available, the decisions of the last eight years would make obvious enough how influential are the personal views of justices of the Supreme Court. And finally, the uncertainty factor is confirmed by the experience of every lawyer who has had to deal with concrete Constitutional questions at any time in late years.