This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

The Smith Act was a vehicle to prosecute communist party officials. Petitioner Scales was prosecuted for being a member of Communist Party in North Carolina and South Carolina. The trial court's jury instructions directed the jury to convict Scales if it the jury determined that both, Scales incited the violent overthrow of the government by advocating a certain action and if Scales was an active leader in the Communist Party. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the conviction.

The legal issues presented in this case will be displayed here.

The court's holding and decision will be displayed here.

Legal analysis from Dean's Law Dictionary will be displayed here.