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Constitutional Law Keyed to Choper
Brown v. Socialist Workers
Citation:
459 U.S. 87 (1982)Facts
The Socialist Workers Party (SWP) was a small political party with approximately 60 members in Ohio whose stated aim was “the abolition of capitalism and the establishment of a workers’ government to achieve socialism.” Though the SWP did not advocate violence and sought change through the political process, its candidates had minimal electoral success, receiving less than 1.9% of votes in the 1980 U.S. Senate race. The Ohio Campaign Expense Reporting Law required every political party to file statements identifying each contributor and each recipient of campaign disbursements, with violations punishable by fines up to $1,000 per day. The SWP presented substantial evidence of both government and private hostility, including FBI surveillance that continued until at least 1976, a counterintelligence program against the SWP, threatening phone calls, hate mail, destruction of property, police harassment, and employment termination of SWP members. Since 1974, under temporary restraining orders, the SWP had not disclosed names of contributors and recipients but otherwise complied with the statute.
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