• Last updated on November 11, 2022

The Supreme Court overturned a summary dismissal of a public school teacher for refusing to answer questions before a congressional committee.

Justice Tom C. ClarkClark, Tom C.;Slochower v. Board of Education of New York City[Slochower v. Board of Education of New York City] wrote the opinion for the 5-4 majority, voiding a summary dismissal of a tenured college professor who cooperated substantially with a congressional inquiry into “communist” subversion in college education but who asserted his right against self-incrimination for a brief period before World War II. The New York Charter provided for termination if an employee refused to answer questions about official conduct. The Supreme Court found that provision of the Charter unconstitutional and declared that the dismissal of the teacher without a hearing violated the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Justices Sherman Minton, Harold H. Burton, Stanley F. Reed, and John M. Harlan II dissented.Loyalty oaths;Slochower v. Board of Education of New York City[Slochower v. Board of Education of New York City]

Aptheker v. Secretary of State

Communist Party v. Subversive Activities Control Board

Congressional power of investigation

Dennis v. United States

Fifth Amendment

Keyishian v. Board of Regents

Scales v. United States

Self-incrimination, immunity against

Yates v. United States

Categories: History