ABSTRACT
Prosecutions of Communist Party leaders under the Smith Act have been criticized both from liberal and conservative viewpoints. In an effort to bring clarity of understanding into a somewhat confused area of law, Mr. Mollan, in this article, examines the history of prosecutions under the "advocacy," "organizational," and "membership" clauses of the Smith Act. Emphasis is laid on the time period between the two significant United States Supreme Court decisions—Dennis and Yates. The author concludes by asserting that there are two possible judicial interpretations of the Yates decision; which interpretation will prevail only will be decided in future case applications of the Smith Act.
