Published In
BC Studies: A British Columbian Quarterly
Document Type
Working Paper
Publication Date
2009
Subjects
legal profession; legal history; legal profession; exclusion; politics; communism; character; McCarthyism; Canada
Abstract
This paper assesses the exclusion of Gordon Martin from the practice of law in 1948 solely on the grounds that his communist political commitment was inconsistent with the role of a lawyer. In so doing it canvasses understandings of the day regarding communism, constitutionalism, and American social thought (as embodied in Oliver Wendell Holmes, John Dewey, Charles Beard, James Harvey Robinson, and Thorstein Veblen). Issues relating to self-governance of the legal profession, character, and statutory interpretation under then-current administrative law doctrine are reviewed.
Citation Details
W Wesley Pue, "Banned from Lawyering: Gordon Martin, Communist" (2009) [unpublished].
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