George SutherlandGeorge Sutherland, (1862-1942) U. S. Supreme Court Justice

George Sutherland Quote

“A free press stands as one of the great interpreters between the government and the people. To allow it to be fettered is to fetter ourselves.”

George SutherlandGeorge Sutherland
~ George Sutherland

Grosjean v. American Press Co., 1936

Ratings and Comments


Dick, Fort Worth

And the only way to unfetter it is to pass a law prohibiting media from ownership or association in any way with other business interests.

helorat, Milton

Maybe 100 years ago, but now they fetter themselves. Just one more chain will set them free right Dick?!

Joe, Rochester, MI

Government has the main-stream media doing their bidding, all in the name of patriotism, with their liberal slant they increase the socialism in our country, moving farther from the Republic intended.

Mike, Norwalk

In the US (from the most micro-local to the macro-national, with EVERYTHING in between) the fourth branch of government (the press/media) has gone far beyond fettering the free press, it has all but killed it. The liberal slant, the politically correct topics, the lack of what is researched and exposed, and the complete general premise of the current day press/media is one of the greatest allies in promoting the socialist/fascist elimination of freedom and complete totalitarianism take over that could have ever been imagined.

E Archer, NYC

But what happens when the press uses its freedom to promote the agenda of its owner or its advertisers? In 1968 we witnessed the horrors of war in Vietnam nightly -- where were the reports of the war in Iraq from 1990-2001? Even today we hear little about the horrors of today's war -- it has been cleaned up nicely to be made more palatable for 'consumers'. Fettering the press is obviously not a solution, but look what the press does on its own!

Patrick Henry, Red Hill

It is by their own cravenness that the generally characterless constituents of the classless contemporary American pseudojournalistic/cryptopropagandistic class are most constrained.

Durham, Birmingham

When President Trump objects to lies by the press, leftists (theyre not liberal) say he is fettering freedom of speech.

Mark W., Aurora, CO

dunno what is more FETTERED these days; MSM, or brainwashed kool-aid-swilling consumers thereof??

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