Page "Fred M. Vinson" Paragraph 14

In his time on the Supreme Court, he wrote 77 opinions for the court and 13 dissents.

His most dramatic dissent was when the court voided President Truman's seizure of the steel industry during a strike in a June 3, 1952 decision, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer.

His final public appearance at the court was when he read the decision not to review the conviction and death sentence of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.

After Justice William O. Douglas granted a stay of execution to the Rosenbergs at the last moment, Chief Justice Vinson sent special flights out to bring vacationing justices back to Washington in order to ensure the execution of the Rosenbergs.

The Vinson court also gained infamy for its refusal to hear the appeal of the Hollywood Ten in their 1947 Contempt of Congress charge.

As a result, all ten would serve a year in jail for invoking their First Amendment right of free association before J. Parnell Thomas and the House Un-American Activities Committee ( HUAC ).

During his tenure as Chief Justice, one of his law clerks was future Associate Justice Byron White.