Naacp v. Button 371 U.S. 415 (1962)

• Author: Martin Shapiro
• Pages: 1773

Page 1773

The Supreme Court held that Virginia statutes forbidding one person to advise another that his legal rights had been violated and to refer him to a particular attorney were unconstitutional as applied to activities of the NAACP and its legal defense fund. The furtherance of litigation designed to challenge the constitutionality of RACIAL DISCRIMINATION was a mode of expression and association protected by the FIRST and FOURTEENTH AMENDMENTS. The Court acknowledged that INTEREST GROUP LITIGATION, aimed at changing constitutional law through TEST CASES, was not only professional legal activity subject to state regulation but also...