Gibson v. Florida Legislative Investigation Committee

372 U.S. 539 (1963)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
G
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Gibson v. Florida Legislative Investigation Committee

United States Supreme Court
372 U.S. 539 (1963)

Facts

In 1957, a legislative committee sought the entire membership list of a local Florida National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) branch because it believed the branch was involved in Communist activity. This request was denied by the Florida Supreme Court. However, the court permitted the committee to require NAACP officials to bring membership lists to committee hearings for the purpose of determining whether specific individuals suspected of being Communists were actually NAACP members. In 1959, the Florida Legislative Investigation Committee (plaintiff) was established to resume the 1957 investigation. Gibson (defendant), president of the NAACP’s Miami branch, was ordered to bring his branch’s membership list to a committee hearing. Gibson refused on the ground that the request violated the First Amendment’s protection of the freedom of association. Based on Gibson’s refusal, a Florida state court found him in contempt and sentenced him to six months in prison and a $1,200 fine. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Goldberg, J.)

Dissent (Harlan, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 804,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 804,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 804,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Constitutional Law

Key Terms