United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Rowoldt v. Perfetto, 355 U.S. 115 (1957)

Rowoldt v. Perfetto

No. 5

Argued November 13-14, 1956

Restored to the calendar for reargument June 24, 1957

Reargued October 14, 1957

Decided December 9, 1957

355 U.S. 115

Syllabus

In this case, the only evidentiary support for the order for petitioner's deportation under § 22 of the Internal Security Act of 1950, as amended, was his own testimony before an immigration inspector in 1947 that he joined the Communist Party in 1935, paid dues, attended meetings, worked in a Communist bookstore, and terminated his membership after a year.

Held:

1. From his testimony, the dominating impulse of petitioner's "affiliation" with the Party may well have been wholly devoid of any "political" implications. Pp. 355 U. S. 116-121.

2. The record is too insubstantial to establish that petitioner's membership was the kind of meaningful association required by § 22, as amended by the Act of March 28, 1951, to support an order of deportation. Pp. 355 U. S. 116-121.

228 F.2d 109 reversed.

Page 355 U. S. 116