In re Primus
Significance
Appellant
Edna Smith Primus
Appellee
Supreme Court of South Carolina
Appellant's Claim
That the Disciplinary Board of the South Carolina Supreme Court, by issuing Primus a public reprimand, violated her First Amendment rights to freely engage in association as a political activity, as a cooperating lawyer with the ACLU.
Chief Lawyer for Appellant
Ray P. McClain
Chief Lawyer for Appellee
Richard B. Kale, Jr., Assistant Attorney General of South Carolina
Justices for the Court
Harry A. Blackmun, Warren E. Burger, Thurgood Marshall, Lewis F. Powell, Jr. (writing for the Court), John Paul Stevens, Potter Stewart, Byron R. White
Justices Dissenting
William H. Rehnquist (William J. Brennan, Jr., did not participate)
Place
Washington, D.C.
Date of Decision
30 May 1978
Decision
The Court overturned the decision of the South Carolina Supreme Court and determined that Primus acted within her rights to free association as a representative of the ACLU, and should not have been reprimanded for improper solicitation.
Related Cases
- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Button, 371 U.S. 415 (1963).
- United Transportation Union v. Michigan Bar, 401 U.S. 576 (1971).
- Mine Workers v. Illinois Bar Association, 389 U.S. 217 (1994).
Further Readings
- Biskupic, Joan and Elder Witt. Congressional Quarterly's Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court, 3rd ed. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 1996.
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- Other Free Encyclopedias
Law Library - American Law and Legal InformationNotable Trials and Court Cases - 1973 to 1980