''United States v. Robel'', 389 U.S. 258 (1967), was a case heard by the Supreme Court of the United States. The court ruled that the United States government cannot deprive the people of constitutional rights - in this case,

freedom of association Freedom of association encompasses both an individual's right to join or leave groups voluntarily, the right of the group to take collective action to pursue the interests of its members, and the right of an association to accept or decline mem ...

- even in the interests of national security. The petitioner, Eugene Frank Robel, who worked at Todd Shipyards in Seattle, was indicted on May 21, 1963, for being a member of the

Communist Party of the United States The Communist Party USA, officially the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), is a communist party in the United States which was established in 1919 after a split in the Socialist Party of America following the Russian Revo ...

(CPUSA) and thus affiliated with it, without being registered with the Subversive Activities Control Board in violation of the

McCarran Internal Security Act The Internal Security Act of 1950, (Public Law 81-831), also known as the Subversive Activities Control Act of 1950, the McCarran Act after its principal sponsor Sen. Pat McCarran (D-Nevada), or the Concentration Camp Law, is a United States fede ...

section 5 (a) (I) (D). Since the act required CPUSA to register as a Communist Party, he was told because of his affiliation with the Party, he also had to register as well, and that he could no longer work at the shipyard because of his affiliation with the Communist Party; Todd Shipyards had been designated a "defense" facility, otherwise known as federal employment, which was illegal under the McCarran Act. Robel appealed his conviction to the Supreme Court. The Court found the McCarran Internal Security Act violates the defendant's right to free association that is guaranteed by the

First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

External links

* United States Supreme Court cases United States Supreme Court cases of the Warren Court United States freedom of association case law 1967 in United States case law {{SCOTUS-case-stub

See also

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