VALEDICTORY OPINIONS OF MR. JUSTICE HOLMES

Mr. Justice Holmes was ninety on March 8, 1931. That anniversary brought him a shower of birthday congratulations and tributes in writing and print, which included thoughtful appraisals of his work up to then as scholar and judge. But that work was not yet done. There remained a little finishing canter before coming to a standstill. The aging justice was to participate in the work of two more terms of court before his retirement on January 12, 1932. In Holmes\u27s quiver, waiting to be fired off, were a dozen opinions which now grace the pages of volume 283 of the United States Reports, and a half-dozen in volume 284. These final utterances of an acknowledged master of judicial craftsmanship constitute our present theme

The Task of the Federal Judiciary [Essay]

After first examining the structure and power of the federal court system, Senior United States District Judge Edward Dumbauld reviews the role of the federal judiciary in society. The writer advocates that courts should not be expected to solve all problems and abolish all evils which exist in society and proposes the narrowing of subject matter jurisdiction and the abolition of diversity jurisdiction to enable the federal courts to concentrate on matters of genuine national concern