http://www.oyez.org/cases/1956/podcast U.S. Supreme Court Oral Arguments, presented by The Oyez Project (www.oyez.org) en The Oyez Project at Chicago-Kent http://www.oyez.org/cases/1950-1959/1956/1956_70/argument In 1944, United States Army private Albert Trop escaped from a military stockade at Casablanca, Morocco, following his confinement for a disciplinary violation. A day later, Trop willingly surrendered to an army truck headed back to Casablanca. Despite testifying that he "decided to return to the stockade" when he was picked up, a general court martial convicted Trop of desertion and sentenced him to three years at hard labor, loss of all pay and allowances, and a dishonorable discharge. In 1952, Trop applied for a passport. His application was rejected under Section 401(g) of the amended 1940 Nationality Act, on the ground that he lost his citizenship due to his conviction and dishonorable discharge for wartime desertion. After failing to obtain a declaratory judgment that he was a US citizen, from both a district and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, Trop appealed to the Supreme Court, which granted certiorari. Thu, 02 May 1957 13:00:00 +0000 53547 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/1950-1959/1956/1956_61/argument Alberts conducted a mail-order business which sold sexually explicit materials. He was convicted in a Municipal Court in California on a misdemeanor complaint which found him guilty of selling lewd and obscene books and of composing and publishing an obscene advertisement for his products. Mon, 22 Apr 1957 13:00:00 +0000 53549 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/1950-1959/1956/1956_582/argument Roth operated a book-selling business in New York and was convicted of mailing obscene circulars and an obscene book in violation of a federal obscenity statute. Roth's case was combined with Alberts v. California, in which a California obscenity law was challenged by Alberts after his similar conviction for selling lewd and obscene books in addition to composing and publishing obscene advertisements for his products. Mon, 22 Apr 1957 13:00:00 +0000 53546 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/1950-1959/1956/1956_521/argument Andrew Mallory was arrested by federal officers on charges of rape. Upon arresting Mallory, the officers questioned him until he confessed roughly seven hours later. After the confession, the police officers sought to reach a United States Commissioner for the purpose of arraigning Mallory. Mon, 01 Apr 1957 13:00:00 +0000 53545 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/1950-1959/1956/1956_261/argument In 1954, John Watkins, a labor organizer, was called upon to testify in hearings conducted by the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Watkins agreed to describe his alleged connections with the Communist Party and to identify current members of the Party. Watkins refused to give information concerning individuals who had left the Communist Party. Watkins argued that such questions were beyond the authority of the Committee. Thu, 07 Mar 1957 13:00:00 +0000 53548 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/1950-1959/1956/1956_6/argument Fourteen leaders of the Communist Party in the state of California were tried and convicted under the Smith Act. That Act prohibited willfully and knowingly conspiring to teach and advocate the overthrow of the government by force. This case was decided in conjunction with Richmond v. United States and Schneiderman v. United States. Mon, 08 Oct 1956 13:00:00 +0000 53550 at http://www.oyez.org