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Braden v. United States, 365 U.S. 431 (1961)
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General SummaryThis case is from a collection containing the full text of over 16,000 Supreme Court cases from 1793 to the present. The body of Supreme Court decisions are, effectively, the final interpretation of the Constitution. Only an amendment to the Constitution can permanently overturn an interpretation and this has happened only four times in American history.
Braden v. United States, 365 U.S. 431 (1961)
Braden v. United States No. 54 Argued November 17, 1960 Decided February 27, 1961 365 U.S. 431
CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
Syllabus
Summoned to testify before a Subcommittee of the House of Representatives Committee on Un-American Activities, which was investigating Communist infiltration into basic industries in the South and Communist Party propaganda activities in the South, petitioner refused to answer many of the questions directed to him. He did not claim his privilege against self-incrimination, but contended that the questions were not pertinent to a question under inquiry by the Subcommittee, and that its questioning violated his rights under the First Amendment. For refusing to answer, he was convicted of a violation of 2 U.S.C. § 192, which makes it a misdemeanor for any person summoned as a witness by either House of Congress or a committee thereof to refuse to answer any question pertinent to the question under inquiry.
Held: Petitioner’s conviction is sustained. Pp. 432-438.
1. On the record, the subjects under investigation by the Subcommittee when petitioner was interrogated were Communist infiltration into basic southern industries and Communist Party propaganda activities in the South; the Subcommittee’s investigation of these subjects was authorized by Congress; the interrogation was pertinent to a question under Subcommittee inquiry; and petitioner was fully apprised of its pertinency. Wilkinson v. United States, ante, p. 399. Pp. 432-433.
2. The Subcommittee’s inquiry as to whether the petitioner had been a member of the Communist Party at the instant when he affixed his signature to a letter urging opposition to certain bills in Congress did not violate his rights under the First Amendment. Barenblatt v. United States, 360 U.S. 109. Pp. 433-435.
3. It was the province of the Court, and not of the jury, to decide whether the questions asked by the Subcommittee were pertinent to the subject under inquiry. Sinclair v. United States, 279 U.S. 263. Pp. 436-437.
4. That, in refusing to answer the questions, petitioner relied upon his understanding of previous decisions of this Court was no defense. Sinclair v. United States, supra. Pp. 437-438.
272 F.2d 653 affirmed.
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Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Braden v. United States, 365 U.S. 431 (1961) in 365 U.S. 431 365 U.S. 432. Original Sources, accessed November 24, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=U1FXH31IIG7LCAK.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Braden v. United States, 365 U.S. 431 (1961), in 365 U.S. 431, page 365 U.S. 432. Original Sources. 24 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=U1FXH31IIG7LCAK.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Braden v. United States, 365 U.S. 431 (1961). cited in 1961, 365 U.S. 431, pp.365 U.S. 432. Original Sources, retrieved 24 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=U1FXH31IIG7LCAK.
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