Second. Bridges. according to the evidence. is a Communist and has advocated the overthrow of this Government by force. Twice he has been picked up to face deportation proceedings and the first time the proceedings were canceled by the Secretary of Labor. The second time the proceedings were postponed. waiting a decision from the Supreme Court in the Strecker case. Now. to the lawyers in this House the Strecker case was not a parallel case to the Bridges case. The Strecker case was based entirely upon past membership in the Communist Party and whether past membership in the Communist Party was a deportable offense under our laws. The Supreme Court ruled that it was not. and therefore the Bridges case was brought to trial. But was it brought to trial in front of the courtthe Federal courtand the Federal judge by whom Bridges was to be tried? No. that Federal judge had ordered the deportation of others that were indicted before that court for the same offenses that Bridges was indicted. and the Department of Labor demanded a special judge in this case. and Judge Landis. the dean of the Harvard Law School. and I am told. one of the best legal minds in the .United States. was selected as the trial judge. The Department of Labor. through its agents. prosecuted the case. The Department of Labor presented much flimsy and contradictory evidence in the case before Judge Landis. and the Department of Labor neglected to present real evidence that was available in that case. and Judge Landis. as any other judge. cannot go beyond the evidence presented in his court in deciding the case.
Keywords matched
deportable deportation