Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Winter 7-1-2009
Abstract
The intention underlying this Article is to analyze the sources and effects of Douglas's antipathy for the military's legal construct, especially the practice of trial by courts-martial. Douglas did have an effect on the evolution of the military's legal construct, and he almost succeeded in narrowing the military's jurisdiction over its servicemen to a narrow fraction of what its jurisdictional reach is today. Along with Justices Hugo Black, Earl Warren, Felix Frankfurter, William Brennan, and shorter-tenured justices, he succeeded in judicially mandating due-process rights for servicemen accused of offenses.8 However, in his ultimate goal, the extent to which he succeeded in lessening executive authority in direct matters of military law is questionable. Yet, to date, little analysis exists regarding the relationship between Douglas and the military's legal construct. Part I of this Article traces the evolution of Douglas's anti-military ideology from his youth through the end of the Truman Administration. Part II analyzes Douglas's continued alliance building to reduce the reach of the military's legal construct during the era of civil rights that characterized the Warren Court.
Publication Title
Thomas M. Cooley Law Review
Volume
26
First Page
163
Recommended Citation
Joshua E. Kastenberg,
Cause and Effect: The Origins and Impact of Justice William O. Douglas’ Anti-Military Ideology from World War II to O’Callahan v. Parker,
26
Thomas M. Cooley Law Review
163
(2009).
Available at:
https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/law_facultyscholarship/434
