How a 'watch list' was defeated in the Fifties: the case of Kent v. Dulles
X-posted from GD:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027954652
Return with me now to a time when the moral panic du jour was about 'subversives',
not terrorists:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_v._Dulles
Kent v. Dulles - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kent v. Dulles, 357 U.S. 116 (1958), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case on the right to travel and passport restrictions as they relate to First Amendment free speech rights. It was the first case in which the U.S. Supreme Court made a distinction between the constitutionally protected substantive due process freedom of movement and the right to travel abroad (subsequently characterized as "right to international travel".[edit]
Rockwell Kent wanted to travel to England to attend a meeting of the World Council of Peace in Helsinki, Finland. He was denied a passport because he was allegedly a Communist and was alleged to have "a consistent and prolonged adherence to the Communist Party line." Kent sued in U.S. District Court for declaratory relief. The District Court granted summary judgment against him.
On appeal, Kent's case was heard with that of Dr. Walter Briehl, a psychiatrist. When Briehl applied for a passport, the Director of the Passport Office asked him to supply an affidavit with respect to his membership in the Communist Party. Briehl, like Kent, refused. His application for a passport was tentatively disapproved. Briehl filed his complaint in the District Court, which held that his case was indistinguishable from Kent's and dismissed it...
...The cases were heard on writ of certiorari. 355 U.S. 881. The Court reversed the Court of Appeals. Kent v Dulles was the first case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the right to travel is a part of the "liberty" of which the citizen cannot be deprived without due process of law under the Fifth Amendment. It did not decide the extent to which this liberty right can be curtailed. The Court was first concerned with the extent, if any, to which Congress had authorized its curtailment by the U.S. Secretary of State. The Court found that the Secretary of State exceeded his authority by refusing to issue passports to Communists.
Too bad Dulles didn't realize that he should have called his black list a "watch list";
he then would have had plenty of support from Democrats...
= new reply since forum marked as read
