Douglas, William Orville

US administrator and jurist

member of Securities and Exchange Commission 1934-1936 (SEC)

chairman of Securities and Exchange Commission 1936-1939 (SEC)

Supreme Court justice 1939-1975 (longest term of any justice)

wrote decisions for Gray v. Sanders 1963 (8-1, state legislative apportionment favoring rural voters is unconstitutional

established "one man, one vote" rule), Griswold v. Connecticut 1965 (7-2, states cannot outlaw use of contraceptives), Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections 1966 (7-2, state poll taxes are unconstitutional)

• "Common sense often makes good law."
• "Solitude is the beginning of all freedom."
• "The right to be let alone is indeed the beginning of all freedom."
• "Religious experiences which are as real as life to some may be incomprehensible to others."
• "Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us."