Silent Decisions

When the Supreme Court begins its new term, one of its traditional opening tasks is to dispose of cases on which it does not want to hear full arguments. One incredible day earlier this month, it took care of 708 such cases, an all-time record, and halfway through the month it had dealt with 824. Such is its position, however, that even when the court rules summarily or refuses to hear a case, observers often try to read answers of a sort into these silent decisions. Among the most interesting of such rulings last week:

> Does a woman have a right to an abortion? Twice this year, Connecticut laws against abortion have been rejected in a federal court. But the Justices stayed the latest ruling against the law, pending their own decision on two other state anti-abortion laws. Although this seemed to imply an anti-abortion victory, court-watchers are convinced that the Justices will eventually declare abortion bans unconstitutional. Until then, however, most abortions in Connecticut can still result in prosecution.

> Can the U.S. limit the importation of propaganda from Viet Nam? U.S. customs officials impounded English language newspapers sent from North Viet Nam to a group called the Veterans and Reservists for Peace in Viet Nam. The Supreme Court has already rejected a ban on all Communist propaganda, but this time the Government invoked the 1917 Trading with the Enemy Act, arguing that the veterans' group had not obtained the necessary license. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the license requirement for enemy goods could indeed be applied to propaganda material, though it must be fairly administered. The Supreme Court decided not to interfere. The material thus remains impounded by customs.

> Is it discriminatory to ban women from treating men in massage parlors? So argued Robert Kisley, who has two parlors in the Washington suburb of Falls Church, Va. A local ordinance prohibits a professional massage given by a member of the opposite sex, which, according to Kisley, violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment and the 1964 Civil Rights Act banning sex discrimination. The court declined to consider the matter. The next day police raided one of Kisley's places and charged a masseuse with "massaging the opposite sex."

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