Today in Supreme Court History: July 4

In re Lewis, 418 U.S. 1301 (decided July 4, 1974): Douglas releases Will Lewis, San Francisco radio station manager, who had been jailed for contempt and spent 19 days in solitary confinement; Lewis had given recordings (from the Weather Underground relative to a shootout with the police by the Symbionese Liberation Army) to the FBI but refused to deliver the originals; Douglas cites First Amendment concerns, pending decision on appeal (which Lewis lost, 501 F.2d 418, and decided to finally hand them over); Lewis had a long career and retired in 2010 (this is the only case I could find for July 4; I owe it to William O. Douglas, normally not a hard worker, who decided to ruin his Independence Day -- and that of his clerks -- for a cause close to his heart)