Dissent
Mr. Justice Clifford offered a concurring opinion that also voted to rescind the indictments, but for entirely different reasons: He opined that section five of the 14th Amendment did, in fact, invest the federal government with the power to legislate the actions of individuals who restrict the constitutional rights of others, but also found that the indictments were worded too vaguely to allow the defendants to prepare an effective defense.
Read more about this topic: United States V. Cruikshank
Famous quotes containing the word dissent:
“May we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion.”
—Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969)
“The rightful claim to dissent is an existential right of the individual.”
—Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921–1990)
“We live in oppressive times. We have, as a nation, become our own thought police; but instead of calling the process by which we limit our expression of dissent and wonder “censorship,” we call it “concern for commercial viability.””
—David Mamet (b. 1947)