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Pennsylvania v. Nelson - Significance, Cold Warriors Outraged By Court's Decision In Favor Of Communist Party Leader

petitioner american press supreme

Petitioner

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Respondent

Steve Nelson

Petitioner's Claim

That the Pennsylvania Supreme Court erred in overturning the conviction of Nelson, a Communist Party leader, under the state's antisedition law.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioner

Frank F. Truscott, Special Deputy Attorney General of Pennsylvania

Chief Lawyer for Respondent

Herbert S. Thatcher

Justices for the Court

Hugo Lafayette Black, Tom C. Clark, William O. Douglas, Felix Frankfurter, John Marshall Harlan II, Earl Warren (writing for the Court)

Justices Dissenting

Harold Burton, Sherman Minton, Stanley Forman Reed

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

2 April 1956

Decision

The U.S. Supreme Court found the Pennsylvania antisedition law unconstitutional and upheld the reversal of Nelson's conviction.

Related Cases

  • Gitlow v. New York, 268 U.S. 652 (1925).
  • Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357 (1927).
  • Dennis v. United States, 341 U.S. 494 (1951).

Further Readings

  • Belknap, Michal R. Cold War Political Justice: The Smith Act, the Communist Party, and American Civil Liberties. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1977.
  • Kutler, Stanley I. The American Inquisition: Justice and Injustice in the Cold War. New York, NY: Hill and Wang, 1982.
  • Zimmerman, Joseph F. Federal Preemption: The Silent Revolution. Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1991.

Additional Topics

Pennsylvania v. Nelson - Significance

The outcome inNelson epitomized, for some, the ultra-liberalism of the Court headed by Chief Justice Warren. Continual efforts of conservatives to pass legislation to overturn the decision were blocked. Steve Nelson was an acknowledged member of the Communist Party. He was convicted in state court of violating the Pennsylvania Sedition Act, which outlawed subversive organizations. He was sentenced…

Pennsylvania v. Nelson - Cold Warriors Outraged By Court's Decision In Favor Of Communist Party Leader

In the mid-1950s, the liberal Court led by Chief Justice Warren came head-to-head with the conservative paranoia that helped fuel the communist witch hunt led by Senator Joseph McCarthy. Those who believed that there was an international communist conspiracy to overthrown the U.S. government, and who agreed with McCarthy that communists had infiltrated all sectors of American society, were often t…

Perez v. Brownell - Significance, Congress Can Seek To Limit "embarrassing" Actions, Fourteenth Amendment Guarantee In Jeopardy [next] [back] May Opinion of the Supreme Court (31,) (1955) - In The Supreme Court Of The United States

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almost 5 years ago

Thank you for such clear writing and logical presentation. I am very interested in this recent history.