American Decades

Important Events in Law and Justice, 1950–1959

The Federal Bureau of Investigation releases its first Ten Most Wanted list.
On January 21, Alger Hiss, a former State Department official, is found guilty of perjury by a federal jury in New York.
On February 20, the Supreme Court upholds the legality of warrantless searches of a lawfully arrested person and the immediate premises where the arrest occurred.
On April 10, the Supreme Court upholds the convictions of Hollywood screenwriters John Howard Lawson and Dalton Trumbo for contempt of Congress.
On April 24, the Supreme Court reverses a criminal conviction based on an indictment by a grand jury that excluded African Americans.
On May 8, the Supreme Court upholds provisions of the Taft-Hartley Labor Act which deny unions access to the National Labor Relations Board if their officers refuse to swear they are not affiliated with the Communist party.
On June 5, the...

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