Gibson v. Florida Legislative Investigation Committee

Gibson v. Florida Legislative Investigation Committee, 372 U.S. 539 (1963), was a United States Supreme Court case based on the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It held that a legislative committee cannot compel a subpoenaed witness to give up the membership lists of his organization.^[1][2]

Gibson v. Florida Legislative Comm.
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued December 5, 1961 Reargued October 10–11, 1962 Decided March 25, 1963
Full case name	Gibson v. Florida Legislative Investigation Committee
Citations	372 U.S. 539 (more) 83 S. Ct. 889; 9 L. Ed. 2d 929; 1963 U.S. LEXIS 2503
Holding
On the record in this case, petitioner's conviction of contempt for refusal to divulge information contained in the membership lists of the Association violated rights of association protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
Court membership
Chief Justice Earl Warren Associate Justices Hugo Black · William O. Douglas Tom C. Clark · John M. Harlan II William J. Brennan Jr. · Potter Stewart Byron White · Arthur Goldberg
Case opinions
Majority	Goldberg, joined by Warren, Black, Douglas, Brennan
Concurrence	Black
Concurrence	Douglas
Dissent	Harlan, joined by Clark, Stewart, White
Dissent	White

Factual background

In 1956, a committee of the Florida Legislature initiated an investigation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)'s Miami branch. When the authority of this committee expired, a new committee was formed in 1957 to pursue the same inquiry. This new committee subpoenaed the branch's membership list. Production of such information was refused.^[2] Due to this refusal, the president of NAACP's Miami branch was convicted of contempt, sentenced, and fined. ^[3][4]

Decision

The Supreme Court held that the conviction violated rights of association under the First and Fourteenth Amendments.^[2]