By Thomas Healy, Metropolitan Books, New York, 322 pages, $28
During his long tenure on the Supreme Court (1902-32), Oliver Wendell Holmes developed a reputation as a progressive because he believed courts should defer to the will of elected legislatures which enact economic reforms. Midway through Holmes' tenure, however, progressives attacked him when such deference led him to deny free-speech rights in wartime espionage prosecutions. Stung by these rebukes, Holmes reassessed his priorities. In his new book, Michael Healy chronicles how Holmes changed his mind about the limits of free speech and breathed new life into the First Amendment. It is a compelling read.
