Barenblatt v. United States

Lloyd Barenblatt v. United States
Argued November 18, 1958
Decided June 8, 1959
Full case nameLloyd Barenblatt v. United States
Citations360 U.S. 109 (more)
79 S. Ct. 1081; 3 L. Ed. 2d 1115
Holding
Barenblatt's charge for contempt of Congress is upheld: the committee provided a proper link between the investigation and a legitimate legislative activity
Court membership
Chief Justice
Earl Warren
Associate Justices
Hugo Black · Felix Frankfurter
William O. Douglas · Tom C. Clark
John M. Harlan II · William J. Brennan Jr.
Charles E. Whittaker · Potter Stewart
Case opinions
MajorityHarlan, joined by Frankfurter, Clark, Whittaker, & Stewart
DissentBlack, joined by Warren & Douglas
DissentBrennan

Barenblatt v. United States, 360 U.S. 109 (1959), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the actions of the House Un-American Activities Committee did not violate the First Amendment and, thus, the Court upheld Lloyd Barenblatt's conviction for contempt of Congress. The Court held that the congressional committee had authority to compel a college professor to answer questions about his Communist Party membership.