Scales and CPUSA, Wilkinson and Braden, and Konigsberg II and Anastaplo—a Full-Scale Retreat

This chapter discusses the U.S. Supreme Court’s October 1960 term, which saw a sudden and final outpouring of decisions in “Communist” cases—fifteen signed decisions. The government prevailed in nine, every one over the dissenting votes of Black, Warren, Douglas, and Brennan. The decisions included Scales, which upheld the constitutionality of the Smith Act’s “membership” clause, and CPUSA v. SACB, which sustained the registration provisions of the Internal Security Act. Decisions in two contempt-of-Congress cases confirmed that after Barenblatt the First Amendment posed no obstacle to committees seeking to compel disclosure of “Communist” affiliations. And in two bar-admission decisions, the Court ruled in effect that states may deny admission to any applicant who refuses to answer questions about his political associations.