1957 in American law

1957 in American law was a pivotal year marked by significant legislative action, landmark Supreme Court decisions, and profound constitutional confrontations. The year saw the passage of the first federal civil rights legislation since Reconstruction, while the Warren Court continued to shape First Amendment and criminal procedure law. These legal developments unfolded against the tense backdrop of the Little Rock Crisis, testing the enforcement power of the federal judiciary and the Eisenhower administration.

Legislation

The most significant legislative achievement was the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, championed by Attorney General Herbert Brownell Jr. and Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson. This act, the first of its kind in the 20th century, created the United States Commission on Civil Rights and established the Civil Rights Division within the Department of Justice. Congress also enacted the Price-Anderson Nuclear Industries Indemnity Act, which limited liability for nuclear accidents to foster the growth of the nuclear power industry. Other notable laws included amendments to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, known as the Food Additives Amendment of 1958, which introduced the requirement for pre-market approval of additives.

Court cases

The Supreme Court issued several landmark rulings. In Roth v. United States, the Court established that obscenity was not protected by the First Amendment, articulating a new test for determining what constituted obscene material. The decision in Yates v. United States significantly limited the scope of the Smith Act, requiring the government to prove advocacy of concrete action for the overthrow of the government, not merely abstract doctrine. In Watkins v. United States, the Court curtailed the investigative power of the House Un-American Activities Committee, asserting that Congress's power to investigate was not unlimited. Furthermore, Mallory v. United States reinforced procedural rights by applying the prompt arraignment requirement of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.

Federal judiciary

President Dwide D. Eisenhower made one appointment to the Supreme Court, elevating Charles Evans Whittaker from the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. At the lower court level, Eisenhower appointed judges to various United States courts of appeals and district courts, continuing to shape the federal bench. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which covered the Deep South, began grappling with the increasing number of school desegregation and voting rights cases that would define its docket for the next decade. The Judicial Conference of the United States, chaired by Chief Justice Earl Warren, addressed administrative matters of the federal courts.

Constitutional amendments

No new amendments to the United States Constitution were ratified in 1957. The most recent amendment at the time was the Twenty-second Amendment, ratified in 1951, which imposed a two-term limit on the presidency. However, the political and social turmoil of the year, particularly surrounding civil rights, fueled discussions that would later lead to the proposal and ratification of the Twenty-fourth Amendment (abolishing poll taxes) in 1964 and the Twenty-fifth Amendment (presidential succession) in 1967.

Events

The most consequential event was the Little Rock Crisis in Little Rock, Arkansas, where Governor Orval Faubus used the Arkansas National Guard to block nine African American students from integrating Little Rock Central High School. In response, President Dwight D. Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas National Guard and deployed elements of the 101st Airborne Division to enforce the desegregation order of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Concurrently, the United States Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in Labor and Management, led by Senator John L. McClellan and with counsel Robert F. Kennedy, conducted highly publicized investigations into corruption within the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and other unions.