Published February 1970 — Download PDF of the original newspaper column
Byrd's-Eye View By U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd Court Integrity The Issue In Chicago The protest demonstrations over the convictions in the Chicago Seven trial are as outrageous--and as threatening to our constitutional system- as was the conduct of the defendants and their lawyers during the trial. As usual, we are hearing mostly from one side-the radical new left, which seeks to destroy the American system. The great middle majority of the American people is not likely to take to the streets, shouting obscenities and smashing windows, to make its views known. In the face of the contempt which the defendants and their attorneys showed for the American system, the jury hearing their case proved that the system works. The verdict finding the defendants not guilty on the conspiracy charge, acquitting two on all charges, and finding five guilty of the charges of crossing state lines to incite violence, was a fair one. Competent legal people seem to agree on that. The contempt sentences are harsh. But considering that nothing less than the integrity of the U.S. judicial system is at stake, they should stand, although it is probable that the length of the sentences ought to be reduced by the appellate courts. It should be noted that Judge Julius Hoffman concede that the contempt and riot sentences could run concurrently. It is in this area that the greatest significance of the trial lies. The deliberately provocative actions of the defendants and their counsel, and the calculated abuse and vilification of the judge, were aimed at demeaning the court and at the ultimate destruction of the American system of law and justice. The issue raised is simply this: Are defendants, radical or otherwise, to be allowed to turn trials into burlesque shows and shout their way out of what should be the inevitable consequences of their law-breaking? That pattern is already making itself manifest in trials in Washington, New York, and elsewhere. Respect for the law and for the courts is fundamental to the continuance of the American system. If the courts can be flouted, then nothing that , anyone has -- including the rights of a radical--is safe. Those who wish to wreck our country know that. They know that if they can weaken and pull down the courts, they can weaken and pull down the whole structure. If Judge Hoffman threw the 1 book at the Chicago rioters and their lawyers, their behavior in the courtroom, as well as on the streets merited it. FEB 25 1970