William O. Douglas

“ I do not think freedom of speech should be so readily sacrificed, even in a courtroom. If that were the offense, it is not too much to ask that the judge make it the ground of his ruling. Certainly the judge did not purport to fine and imprison Fisher for the manner of making the objection, for the tone of his voice, or for this facial expression. The dispute was merely over the bounds of permissible comment before a jury. Fisher having been stopped at one point tried another strategy. He was acting the role of a resourceful lawyer. ”

“ United States, 267 U.S. 517, 539, 45 S.Ct. 390, 396, 69 L.Ed. 767, warned that its exercise by a federal court is 'a delicate one, and care is needed to avoid arbitrary or oppressive conclusions.' The same restraint is necessary under our constitutional scheme when state courts are claiming the right to take a person by the heels and fine or imprison him for contempt without a trial or an opportunity to defend. ”

“ The judge sustained an objection to Fisher's attempt to get the average weekly compensation of the injured person before the jury, as appears from the following colloquy:
'By Mr. Cox: The jury is not concerned with the computation; it has only one series of issues. That is not before the jury.
' y the Court: That has all been agreed upon.
'By Mr. Fisher: I think it is material, Your Honor, to tell the jury what the average weekly compensation is of this claimant so that they can tell where he is.
'By the Court: They are not interested in dollars and cents. ”