Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project (2010) rejected First Amendment
challenges in upholding a federal law prohibiting material support to
terrorist organizations.
Freedom of Association
The freedom of association — unlike the rights of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition — is a right not listed in the First Amendment but recognized by the courts as a fundamental right.
There are two types of freedom of association: the right to expressive association and the right to intimate association.
Additionally, the First Amendment protects a right to associate and a right not to associate together.
The right to expressive association refers to the right of people to associate together for expressive purposes – often for political purposes. The U.S. Supreme Court recognized this right in NAACP v. Alabama (1958), reasoning that individual members of the civil rights group had a right to associate together free from undue state interference.
Another line of freedom of association cases concern the rights of political parties to set their own rules and govern their internal affairs.
A key aspect of freedom to associate is the ability of a group to associate with like-minded persons. Some freedom of association cases have proven difficult to navigate for the courts, because the freedom to associate or not associate often runs headlong into a state public accommodation or anti-discrimination law.
The Supreme Court in 1959 and 1960 upheld the contempt conviction that led
to the jailing of Methodist pacifist minister Dr. Willard Uphaus for
refusing to reveal the speakers at a camp conference. In Uphaus v. Wyman,
the Court upheld New Hampshire’s contempt citation against challenges of
infringement on First Amendment freedoms of association and a right to
privacy.
In 1971, the Supreme Court reversed an injunction that prevented a union
from providing legal advice and services to members, saying it interfered
with the rights of association enjoyed under the First Amendment. In United
Transportation Union v. State Bar of Michigan, the Court pointed to its
previous rulings in union cases.
Basing the decision on the freedom of association under the First
Amendment, the Supreme Court in 1967 upheld the dismissal of an indictment
against a Communist member who worked at a defense facility in United
States v. Robel. The man had been indicted under the McCarran Internal
Security Act which prohibited employment of Communists at defense
facilities.