Augustus Noble Hand
Encyclopedia
Augustus Noble Hand was an American
judge who served on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
and later on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
. His most notable rulings restricted the reach of obscenity statutes in the areas of literature and contraceptives. He was the older first cousin of famed judge Learned Hand
, who himself served on both courts during most of Augustus Hand's tenure at each.
. He received an A.B. from Harvard in 1890, and earned an L.L.B. at Harvard Law School
in 1894. He then established a private practice in New York City
, which he maintained until 1914, when he was nominated by President
Woodrow Wilson
to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
. Hand was confirmed by the Senate
and received his commission on September 30, 1914.
He served on the District Court until he received a recess appointment
elevating him to the Second Circuit from Calvin Coolidge
. He was confirmed by the Senate on January 18, 1928.
Hand became a senior judge on the Second Circuit on June 30, 1953. His service on the bench ended with his death on October 28, 1954, in Middlebury, Vermont. He was buried in Elizabethtown.
, 86 F.2d 737 (2d Cir. 1934), in which he ruled that contraceptives, when imported by a licensed physician
, were not immoral or obscene devices banned under the Comstock Law
provisions incorporated into the Tariff Act of 1930. Hand wrote that "we are satisfied that this statute, as well as all the acts we have referred to, embraced only such articles as Congress would have denounced as immoral if it had understood all the conditions under which they were to be used. Its design, in our opinion, was not to prevent the importation, sale, or carriage by mail of things which might intelligently be employed by conscientious and competent physicians for the purpose of saving life or promoting the well being of their patients."
, by James Joyce
, was not obscene and therefore could not be banned from import into the U.S. The opinion was significant in its urging that any test of obscenity could not rely on mere isolated passages but instead had to consider the work as a whole, a test the Supreme Court
later endorsed. Hand's opinion also displayed a historical perspective of the harm of overzealous censorship:
Hand's cousin, Judge Learned Hand, joined in Augustus Hand's opinion; Chief Judge
Martin Manton
dissented.
case against the eight largest movie distributors. The court's per curiam decree in United States v. Paramount Pictures, 70 F.Supp. 53 (S.D.N.Y. 1946), significantly altered the motion picture industry in the United States, by forbidding the distributors from colluding with movie theaters in such anti-competitive licensing practices as price fixing
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
judge who served on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York is a federal district court. Appeals from the Southern District of New York are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case...
and later on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals...
. His most notable rulings restricted the reach of obscenity statutes in the areas of literature and contraceptives. He was the older first cousin of famed judge Learned Hand
Learned Hand
Billings Learned Hand was a United States judge and judicial philosopher. He served on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and later the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit...
, who himself served on both courts during most of Augustus Hand's tenure at each.
Biography
Hand was born in Elizabethtown, New YorkElizabethtown, New York
Elizabethtown is a town in Essex County, New York, United States. The population was 1,315 at the 2000 census. The county seat of Essex County is a hamlet also called Elizabethtown. The name is derived from Elizabeth Gilliland, the wife of an early settler....
. He received an A.B. from Harvard in 1890, and earned an L.L.B. at Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
in 1894. He then established a private practice in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, which he maintained until 1914, when he was nominated by President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York is a federal district court. Appeals from the Southern District of New York are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case...
. Hand was confirmed by the Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
and received his commission on September 30, 1914.
He served on the District Court until he received a recess appointment
Recess appointment
A recess appointment is the appointment, by the President of the United States, of a senior federal official while the U.S. Senate is in recess. The U.S. Constitution requires that the most senior federal officers must be confirmed by the Senate before assuming office, but while the Senate is in...
elevating him to the Second Circuit from Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge
John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...
. He was confirmed by the Senate on January 18, 1928.
Hand became a senior judge on the Second Circuit on June 30, 1953. His service on the bench ended with his death on October 28, 1954, in Middlebury, Vermont. He was buried in Elizabethtown.
Contraceptives
One of Hand's best-known decisions was rendered in the case of United States v. One PackageUnited States v. One Package of Japanese Pessaries
United States v. One Package of Japanese Pessaries, 86 F.2d 737 , was an in rem United States Court of Appeals case in the Second Circuit involving birth control.-Background:...
, 86 F.2d 737 (2d Cir. 1934), in which he ruled that contraceptives, when imported by a licensed physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, were not immoral or obscene devices banned under the Comstock Law
Comstock Law
The Comstock Act, , enacted March 3, 1873, was a United States federal law which amended the Post Office Act and made it illegal to send any "obscene, lewd, and/or lascivious" materials through the mail, including contraceptive devices and information. In addition to banning contraceptives, this...
provisions incorporated into the Tariff Act of 1930. Hand wrote that "we are satisfied that this statute, as well as all the acts we have referred to, embraced only such articles as Congress would have denounced as immoral if it had understood all the conditions under which they were to be used. Its design, in our opinion, was not to prevent the importation, sale, or carriage by mail of things which might intelligently be employed by conscientious and competent physicians for the purpose of saving life or promoting the well being of their patients."
Censorship
The same year, Hand further limited the Tariff Act's restrictions in United States v. One Book Entitled Ulysses by James Joyce, 72 F.2d 705 (2nd Cir. 1934), which ruled that the novel UlyssesUlysses (novel)
Ulysses is a novel by the Irish author James Joyce. It was first serialised in parts in the American journal The Little Review from March 1918 to December 1920, and then published in its entirety by Sylvia Beach on 2 February 1922, in Paris. One of the most important works of Modernist literature,...
, by James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
, was not obscene and therefore could not be banned from import into the U.S. The opinion was significant in its urging that any test of obscenity could not rely on mere isolated passages but instead had to consider the work as a whole, a test the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
later endorsed. Hand's opinion also displayed a historical perspective of the harm of overzealous censorship:
Art certainly cannot advance under compulsion to traditional forms, and nothing in such a field is more stifling to progress than limitation of the right to experiment with a new technique. The foolish judgments of Lord EldonJohn Scott, 1st Earl of EldonJohn Scott, 1st Earl of Eldon PC KC FRS FSA was a British barrister and politician. He served as Lord Chancellor of Great Britain between 1801 and 1806 and again between 1807 and 1827.- Background and education :...
about one hundred years ago, proscribing the works of ByronGeorge Gordon Byron, 6th Baron ByronGeorge Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, later George Gordon Noel, 6th Baron Byron, FRS , commonly known simply as Lord Byron, was a British poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement...
and SoutheyRobert SoutheyRobert Southey was an English poet of the Romantic school, one of the so-called "Lake Poets", and Poet Laureate for 30 years from 1813 to his death in 1843...
, and the finding by the jury under a charge by Lord DenmanThomas Denman, 1st Baron DenmanThomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman PC KC was a British lawyer, judge and politician. He served as Lord Chief Justice between 1832 and 1850.-Background and education:Denman was born in London, the son of Dr Thomas Denman...
that the publication of Shelley'sPercy Bysshe ShelleyPercy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets and is critically regarded as among the finest lyric poets in the English language. Shelley was famous for his association with John Keats and Lord Byron...
"Queen Mab" was an indictable offense are a warning to all who have to determine the limits of the field within which authors may exercise themselves. We think that Ulysses is a book of originality and sincerity of treatment and that it has not the effect of promoting lust. Accordingly it does not fall within the statute, even though it justly may offend many.
Hand's cousin, Judge Learned Hand, joined in Augustus Hand's opinion; Chief Judge
Chief judge
Chief Judge is a title that can refer to the highest-ranking judge of a court that has more than one judge. The meaning and usage of the term vary from one court system to another...
Martin Manton
Martin Manton
Martin Thomas Manton was a prominent United States federal Judge in New York City, sometimes remembered for having resigned and served time in prison for accepting bribes while in office. In 1916 he was the youngest federal judge in the United States.-Biography:He was born on August 2, 1880...
dissented.
Motion Picture Anti-trust
In 1946, Hand was temporarily assigned to a three-judge panel of the New York Southern District Court for the U.S. government's antitrustAntitrust
The United States antitrust law is a body of laws that prohibits anti-competitive behavior and unfair business practices. Antitrust laws are intended to encourage competition in the marketplace. These competition laws make illegal certain practices deemed to hurt businesses or consumers or both,...
case against the eight largest movie distributors. The court's per curiam decree in United States v. Paramount Pictures, 70 F.Supp. 53 (S.D.N.Y. 1946), significantly altered the motion picture industry in the United States, by forbidding the distributors from colluding with movie theaters in such anti-competitive licensing practices as price fixing
Price fixing
Price fixing is an agreement between participants on the same side in a market to buy or sell a product, service, or commodity only at a fixed price, or maintain the market conditions such that the price is maintained at a given level by controlling supply and demand...
.