COMMUNIST PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES v. SUBVERSIVE ACTIVITIES CONTROL BOARD (1956)

Legal Principle at Issue

Whether the Board's order could be upheld if it relied on the testimony of government witnesses who had allegedly committed perjury.

Action

Reversed and remanded. Petitioning party received a favorable disposition.

Facts/Syllabus

The Subversive Activities Control Board ordered the Communist Party of the United States to register with the attorney general as a "Communist action" organization, as required by the Subversive Activities Control Act of 1950. The Communist Party of the United States appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. While the appeal was pending, the Communist Party of the United States filed a motion for leave to adduce additional evidence pursuant to the Act, alleging that evidence which became available to them subsequent to the administrative proceeding would establish that the testimony of three of the attorney general's witnesses on which the Board relied was perjurious. The federal government did not deny petitioner's allegations. The Court of Appeals denied the motion, upheld the constitutionality of the Act, and affirmed the Board's order. Both the government and the Court of Appeals deemed the innocent testimony sufficient to sustain the Board's conclusion.