Facts of the Case

The NAACP was prosecuted for violating a Virginia statute which banned "the improper solicitation of any legal or professional business."

Question

Did the law, as applied to the NAACP's activities, violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments?

Conclusion

Yes. The unanimous Court held that the activities of the NAACP amounted to "modes of expression and association protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments which Virginia may not prohibit." NAACP initiated litigation was "a form of political expression" and not "a technique of resolving private differences," argued Brennan.