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Harisiades v. Shaughnessy
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Harisiades v. Shaughnessy
Harisiades v. Shaughnessy, 342 U.S. 580 (1952), was a United States Supreme Court case which determined that the Alien Registration Act of 1940's authorization of deportation of legal residents for membership, even past, in communist parties did not violate the First Amendment, the Fifth Amendment, nor the constitution's Ex Post Facto Clause.
The case was a consolidation of three similar cases, Mascitti v. McGrath, Coleman v. McGrath, and Harisiades v. Shaughnessy, all brought by long time legal residents of the United States who were in the process of being deported under the Alien Registration Act for their past participation in communist political parties.
The Alien Registration Act of 1940, also known as the Smith Act, authorizes the deportation of legal residents of the United States as a penalty for advocacy to overthrow the government under title 2. Membership of communist parties was at the time treated automatically as advocacy for overthrow of the government.
The 1951 Supreme Court case Dennis v. United States upheld prosecutions under the Smith Act for mere advocacy, as opposed to direct action, to violently overthrow the government as constitutional.
In the United States, legal residents, although not citizens, still enjoy most of the same constitutional rights. Under the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause, all people within the jurisdiction of the U.S. are promised equal protection under the law. But, there are some rights and privileges legal residents do not have, such as voting in federal elections and running for public office. The First Amendment does protect non-citizens, but not in all situations. For example, people applying for residency, visas, or citizenship will be asked and investigated about their affiliations and can be denied based on what would normally be protected under the freedom of association, speech, etc.
Ex post facto is a legal term used to describe laws which retroactively punish actions, typically in the criminal context. Article 1, § 9 of the United States Constitution prohibits Congress from enacting any laws which apply ex post facto, this is referred to as the constitution's Ex Post Facto Clause.
Peter Harisiades was a Greek immigrant who came to the United States at 13 years old with his father in 1916. At the time of this case, he was married with two kids; his wife and kids were all American citizens. He joined the Communist Party USA (then the Worker's Party) in 1925 and was kicked out of the organization in 1939 as a part of the party's attempt to protect its non-citizen members, whose membership put them in danger of deportation. A warrant was issued for his deportation on December 16, 1948. Harisiades was represented at the Supreme Court by Carol Weiss King.
Luigi Mascitti was an Italian immigrant who came to the country in 1920 at 16 years old. At the time of the case, he was married to a fellow legal resident and had one American-born child. Between 1923 and 1929, he was a member of the Communist Party or its youth wing.
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Harisiades v. Shaughnessy
Harisiades v. Shaughnessy, 342 U.S. 580 (1952), was a United States Supreme Court case which determined that the Alien Registration Act of 1940's authorization of deportation of legal residents for membership, even past, in communist parties did not violate the First Amendment, the Fifth Amendment, nor the constitution's Ex Post Facto Clause.
The case was a consolidation of three similar cases, Mascitti v. McGrath, Coleman v. McGrath, and Harisiades v. Shaughnessy, all brought by long time legal residents of the United States who were in the process of being deported under the Alien Registration Act for their past participation in communist political parties.
The Alien Registration Act of 1940, also known as the Smith Act, authorizes the deportation of legal residents of the United States as a penalty for advocacy to overthrow the government under title 2. Membership of communist parties was at the time treated automatically as advocacy for overthrow of the government.
The 1951 Supreme Court case Dennis v. United States upheld prosecutions under the Smith Act for mere advocacy, as opposed to direct action, to violently overthrow the government as constitutional.
In the United States, legal residents, although not citizens, still enjoy most of the same constitutional rights. Under the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause, all people within the jurisdiction of the U.S. are promised equal protection under the law. But, there are some rights and privileges legal residents do not have, such as voting in federal elections and running for public office. The First Amendment does protect non-citizens, but not in all situations. For example, people applying for residency, visas, or citizenship will be asked and investigated about their affiliations and can be denied based on what would normally be protected under the freedom of association, speech, etc.
Ex post facto is a legal term used to describe laws which retroactively punish actions, typically in the criminal context. Article 1, § 9 of the United States Constitution prohibits Congress from enacting any laws which apply ex post facto, this is referred to as the constitution's Ex Post Facto Clause.
Peter Harisiades was a Greek immigrant who came to the United States at 13 years old with his father in 1916. At the time of this case, he was married with two kids; his wife and kids were all American citizens. He joined the Communist Party USA (then the Worker's Party) in 1925 and was kicked out of the organization in 1939 as a part of the party's attempt to protect its non-citizen members, whose membership put them in danger of deportation. A warrant was issued for his deportation on December 16, 1948. Harisiades was represented at the Supreme Court by Carol Weiss King.
Luigi Mascitti was an Italian immigrant who came to the country in 1920 at 16 years old. At the time of the case, he was married to a fellow legal resident and had one American-born child. Between 1923 and 1929, he was a member of the Communist Party or its youth wing.