disagreed with the decision. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover called the decisions "the greatest victory the Communist Party in America ever received." President Eisenhower evaded questions about the decisions at a press conference, but wrote a letter to the Chief Justice after reports that he was "mad as hell" about them. The day was viewed as an indication of the Court's assertiveness under its new Chief Justice, with Time magazine headlining its coverage "U.S. Supreme Court: New Direction". Journalist I. F. Stone said the day "will go down in the history books as the day on which the Supreme Court irreparably crippled the witch hunt." See also Smith Act trials of communist party leaders Brandenburg v. Ohio Hess v. Indiana References External links University of Pittsburgh: The Persecution of Oleta O'Connor Yates (1951) United States Supreme Court cases United States Free Speech Clause case law McCarthyism 1957 in United States case law Communist Party USA litigation American Civil Liberties Union litigation Overruled United States Supreme Court decisions United States Supreme Court cases of the Warren Court