NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE v. ALABAMA ex rel. PATTERSON, ATTORNEY GENERAL

Legal Principle at Issue

Did an Alabama law that required the NAACP to provide the names and addresses of all its members and agents in the state violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments?

Action

The Court ruled that the NAACP could not be compelled to disclose the names and addresses of its members.

Facts/Syllabus

The state government of Alabama sought to compel the NAACP, a civil rights organization, to reveal the names and addresses of its members. The NAACP resisted, arguing that revealing this information would chill membership and violates its members’ First Amendment rights to freedom of association.