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Dennis v. United States, 341 U.S. 494 (1951)
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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.
Dennis v. United States, 341 U.S. 494 (1951)
Dennis v. United States No. 336 Argued December 4, 1950 Decided June 4, 1951 341 U.S. 494
CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT
Syllabus
1. As construed and applied in this case, §§ 2(a)(1), 2(a)(3) and 3 of the Smith Act, 54 Stat. 671, making it a crime for any person knowingly or willfully to advocate the overthrow or destruction of the Government of the United States by force or violence, to organize or help to organize any group which does so, or to conspire to do so, do not violate the First Amendment or other provisions of the Bill of Rights and do not violate the First or Fifth Amendments because of indefiniteness. Pp. 495-499, 517.
2. Petitioners, leaders of the Communist Party in this country, were indicted in a federal district court under § 3 of the Smith Act for willfully and knowingly conspiring (1) to organize as the Communist Party a group of persons to teach and advocate the overthrow and destruction of the Government of the United States by force and violence, and (2) knowingly and willfully to advocate and teach the duty and necessity of overthrowing and destroying the Government of the United States by force and violence. The trial judge instructed the jury that they could not convict unless they found that petitioners intended to overthrow the Government "as speedily as circumstances would permit," but that, if they so found, then, as a matter of law, there was sufficient danger of a substantive evil that Congress has a right to prevent to justify application of the statute under the First Amendment. Petitioners were convicted, and the convictions were sustained by the Court of Appeals. This Court granted certiorari, limited to the questions: (1) Whether either § 2 or § 3 of the Smith Act, inherently or as construed and applied in the instant case, violates the First Amendment and other provisions of the Bill of Rights, and (2) whether either § 2 or § 3, inherently or as construed and applied in the instant case, violates the First and Fifth Amendments because of indefiniteness.
Held: The convictions are affirmed. Pp. 495-499, 511-512, 517.
183 F.2d 201, affirmed.
For the opinions of the Justices constituting the majority of the Court, see:
Opinion of THE CHIEF JUSTICE, joined by MR. JUSTICE REED, MR. JUSTICE BURTON and MR. JUSTICE MINTON, p. 495.
Opinion of MR. JUSTICE FRANKFURTER, p. 517.
Opinion of MR. JUSTICE JACKSON, p. 561.
For the dissenting opinion of MR. JUSTICE BLACK, see p. 579.
For the dissenting opinion of MR. JUSTICE DOUGLAS, see p. 581.
The case is stated in the opinion of THE CHIEF JUSTICE, pp. 495-499.
Affirmed, p. 517.
Contents:
Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Dennis v. United States, 341 U.S. 494 (1951) in 341 U.S. 494 341 U.S. 495. Original Sources, accessed November 22, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=XTKV1BW2ZZ5UB96.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Dennis v. United States, 341 U.S. 494 (1951), in 341 U.S. 494, page 341 U.S. 495. Original Sources. 22 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=XTKV1BW2ZZ5UB96.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Dennis v. United States, 341 U.S. 494 (1951). cited in 1951, 341 U.S. 494, pp.341 U.S. 495. Original Sources, retrieved 22 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=XTKV1BW2ZZ5UB96.
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