From: Michael S. Lorrey (retroman@turbont.net)
Date: Mon Jun 12 2000 - 08:31:40 MDT
John Clark wrote:
>
> Matt Gingell <mjg223@is7.nyu.edu> Wrote:
>
> >Do you find not being able to yell fire in a crowded theater an
> >ominous trend?
>
> That cliche originally came from the American jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes
> (1841-1935), he used it in one of his decisions that upheld the conviction of
> a man imprisoned for saying America should not be in the First World War.
> Years later Holmes said it was the worst decision he made in his entire legal
> career and he cringed whenever he heard somebody quoting his famous saying.
> Personally I don't think anyone should yell anything in a theater, but I see nothing
> wrong with giving away pamphlets on the nature of combustion to those who
> wanted to read them.
I was under the impression that that was a different jurist who said about
pornography "I can't define it, but I know it when I see it."
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