Scales v. United States
Scales v. United States is a significant Supreme Court case decided by a narrow 5-4 margin, which upheld the conviction of an active member of the Communist Party. This ruling distinguished itself from a previous case, Noto v. United States, where mere membership was not deemed sufficient for conviction. The majority opinion, authored by Justice John M. Harlan, emphasized that Scales's involvement in the party's activities warranted legal consequences. Conversely, the dissenting justices, including Chief Justice Earl Warren and others, argued that there was insufficient evidence to support claims of advocating for the overthrow of the government or posing an immediate threat through Scales's actions. The case reflects broader themes of assembly, association, and individual freedoms in the context of political beliefs, particularly during a time of heightened concern over communism in the United States. Scales v. United States remains relevant in discussions about civil liberties and the limits of governmental authority in regulating political associations.
Scales v. United States
Date: June 5, 1961
Citation: 367 U.S. 203
Issues: Freedom of association; subversion
Significance: This Supreme Court case is one of the last in which conservative justices were able to sustain a conviction of some Communist Party members for just belonging in an alleged subversive organization.
By a 5-4 vote, the conservative justices on the Supreme Court, over dissents of the more liberal Chief Justice Earl Warren and Justices Hugo L. Black, William J. Brennan, Jr., and William O. Douglas, upheld a conviction of an “active” member of the Communist Party. In his opinion for the Court, Justice John M. Harlan II distinguished the case from Noto v. United States (1961). In Noto, the Court did not find that Noto’s membership was sufficient to justify conviction. However, in Scales, the Court found that Scales’s participation in party activities justified conviction. The dissenters pointed out there was no evidence of advocacy for the immediate overthrow of the government or evidence of an immediate threat in Scales’s activities.
