Communist Party of Indiana v. Whitcomb

Summary

The Court held that Indiana's requirement that a political party swear it does not advocate governmental overthrow by force or violence violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments because it covers abstract advocacy as well as advocacy directed toward imminent unlawful action. The Court also held that the appeal was timely because the Election Board's motion for reconsideration suspended finality of the district court's judgment. Justice Powell, concurring in the result, would have resolved the case on equal-protection grounds based on the State's discriminatory application of the affidavit requirement.