Opinion ID: 708223
Heading Depth: 6
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: First Amendment Standards Protect Associational Activities

Text: 64 The Government does not dispute that the First Amendment protects a citizen's right to associate with a political organization; even if that association includes ties with groups that advocate illegal conduct or engage in illegal acts, the power of the Government to penalize association is narrowly circumscribed. [T]he right of association is a 'basic constitutional freedom' ... [that] lies at the foundation of a free society. Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1, 25, 96 S.Ct. 612, 637, 46 L.Ed.2d 659 (1976) (citations omitted). Government cannot deny[ ] rights and privileges solely because of a citizen's association with an unpopular organization. Healy v. James, 408 U.S. 169, 185-86, 92 S.Ct. 2338, 2348, 33 L.Ed.2d 266 (1972). 65 Under the standard enunciated by the Supreme Court in Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444, 89 S.Ct. 1827, 23 L.Ed.2d 430 (1969), advocacy may be punished only if it is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action. Id. at 447, 89 S.Ct. at 1829. The Government must establish a knowing affiliation and a specific intent to further those illegal aims. Healy, 408 U.S. at 186, 92 S.Ct. at 2348. Guilt by association alone violates the First Amendment. Robel, 389 U.S. at 265-66, 88 S.Ct. at 424-25. 66 Here, the Government has not attempted to show that the aliens' association with the PFLP satisfies the currently applicable Brandenburg standard; instead, it argues that aliens are not entitled to the same First Amendment protections that citizens enjoy. 67