Home > Great American Court Cases > Kent v. Dulles

Legal Citation: 357 U.S. 116 (1958)

Appellant
Rockwell Kent

Appellee
John Foster Dulles, U.S. Secretary of State

Appellant's Claim
That the State Department's denial of a passport to an acknowledged communist violates the right to travel and the First Amendment right of free association.

Chief Lawyer for Appellant
Leonard B. Boudin

Chief Lawyer for Appellee
J. Lee Rankin, U.S. Solicitor General

Justices for the Court
Hugo Lafayette Black, William J. Brennan, Jr., William O. Douglas (writing for the Court), Felix Frankfurter, Earl Warren

Justices Dissenting
Harold Burton, Tom C. Clark, John Marshall Harlan II, Charles Evans Whittaker

Place
Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision
16 June 1958

Decision
The Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional for the...