United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Chaunt v. United States, 364 U.S. 350 (1960)

Chaunt v. United States

No. 22

Argued October 17, 1960

Decided November 14, 1960

364 U.S. 350

Syllabus

Under § 340(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, as amended, the United States sued to revoke the order admitting petitioner to citizenship, on the ground that it had been procured "by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation." The complaint alleged, and the District Court found, that petitioner had concealed membership in the Communist Party, a lack of intent to renounce foreign allegiance, and a record of arrests, and it revoked his citizenship. The Court of Appeals affirmed, reaching only the question of concealment of the arrests, which occurred more than five years before petitioner's naturalization and were for distributing handbills, making a speech in a public park, and a breach of the peace.

Held: on the record in this case concerning the arrests, the Government failed to show by clear, unequivocal, and convincing evidence either (1) that facts were suppressed which, if known, would have warranted denial of citizenship, or (2) that their disclosure might have been useful in an investigation possibly leading to the discovery of other facts warranting denial of citizenship. Pp. 364 U. S. 350-356.

270 F.2d 179, reversed and cause remanded.