Greer v. Spock

424 U.S. 828 (1976)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

The Fort Dix Military Reservation is a United States Army post. Speeches and demonstrations of a partisan political nature, are banned by Fort Dix Reg. 210-26 (1968), which provides that demonstrations, picketing, sit-ins, protest marches, political speeches, and similar activities are prohibited and will not be conducted on the Fort Dix Military Reservation. Respondents Benjamin Spock and Julius Hobson were the candidates of the People's Party for the offices of President and Vice President of the United States, and Linda Jenness and Andrew Pulley were the candidates of the Socialist Workers Party for the same offices. They informed the commanding officer of Fort Dix, of their intention to enter the reservation on September 23, 1972, for the purpose of distributing campaign literature and holding a meeting to discuss election issues with service personnel and their dependents. They were barred from entry onto the fort. They filed this suit in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey to enjoin the enforcement of the Fort Dix regulations governing political campaigning and the distribution of literature, upon the ground that the regulations violated the First and Fifth Amendments of the Constitution. The District Court denied a preliminary injunction. The Court of Appeals reversed that order and directed that preliminary injunctive relief be granted. The District Court subsequently issued a permanent injunction prohibiting the military authorities from interfering with the making of political speeches or the distribution of leaflets in areas of Fort Dix open to the general public and the Court of Appeals affirmed this final judgment.