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Laird V. Tatum: The Supreme Court And A First Amendment Challenge To Military Surveillance Of Lawful Civilian Political Activity, Ralph Michael Stein

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This Comment will explore the salient issues raised by Laird v. Tatum and will attempt to answer the following questions: Did the Supreme Court err in denying the political activists an opportunity to present witnesses at a District Court hearing and in deciding the issues on the original papers and appellate brief? Was the Military Intelligence (hereinafter MI) program complained of an impermissible abridgment of First Amendment rights? Did Justice Rehnquist behave improperly by participating in the Laird v. Tatum decision? Last, to what extent has the Supreme Court's decision in this case affected future adjudication of First Amendment class …