National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Alabama

Petitioner

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

Respondent

State of Alabama

Petitioner's Claim

That the state of Alabama could not force the association to produce a list including the names and addresses of its members and agents, and that a temporary restraining order barring the association from operation in Alabama was unconstitutional.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioner

Robert L. Carter

Chief Lawyer for Respondent

Edmond L. Rinehart, Assistant Attorney General of Alabama

Justices for the Court

Hugo Lafayette Black, William J. Brennan, Jr., Harold Burton, Tom C. Clark, William O. Douglas, John Marshall Harlan II (writing for the Court), Potter Stewart, Earl Warren, Charles Evans Whittaker

Justices Dissenting

None

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

30 June 1958

Decision

That the state's demand for a complete membership list was unconstitutional given Fourteenth Amendment protection of the right of free association and the right of pursuit of one's lawful interests; the Court did allow the restraining order barring the association from operating in Alabama to stand by refusing to consider the association's challenge.