Court Opinion

ID: 9424979
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-02 23:13:21.406609+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:15:55.545531
License: Public Domain

Mr. Justice Brennan,
with whom Mr. Justice Stewart and Mr. Justice Marshall join, dissenting.
The Court of Appeals held that a justiciable controversy exists and that respondents have stated a claim upon which relief could be granted. 144 U. S. App. D. C. 72, 83, 444 F. 2d 947, 958 (1971). I agree with Judge Wilkey, writing for the Court of Appeals, that this conclusion is compelled for the following reasons stated by him:
“[Respondents] contend that the present existence of this system of gathering and distributing information, allegedly far beyond the mission requirements of the Army, constitutes an impermissible burden on [respondents] and other persons similarly situated which exercises a present inhibiting effect on their full expression and utilization of their First Amendment rights of free speech, etc. The baleful effect, if there is one, is thus a present *39inhibition of lawful behavior and of First Amendment rights.
“Under this view of [respondents’] allegations, under justiciability standards it is the operation of the system itself which is the breach of the Army’s duty toward [respondents] and other civilians. The case is therefore ripe for adjudication. Because the evil alleged in the Army intelligence system is that of overbreadth, i. e., the collection of information not reasonably relevant to the Army’s mission to suppress civil disorder, and because there is no indication that a better opportunity will later arise to test the constitutionality of the Army’s action, the issue can be considered justiciable at this time.” Id., at 79-81, 444 F. 2d, at 954-956 (emphasis in original) (footnotes omitted).
“To the extent that the Army’s argument against justiciability here includes the claim that [respondents] lack standing to bring this action, we cannot agree. If the Army’s system does indeed derogate First Amendment values, the [respondents] are persons who are sufficiently affected to permit their complaint to be heard. The record shows that most if not all of the [respondents] and/or the organizations of which they are members have been the subject of Army surveillance reports and their names have appeared in the Army’s records. Since this is precisely the injury of which [respondents] complain, they have standing to seek redress for that alleged injury in court and will provide the necessary adversary interest that is required by the standing doctrine, on the issue of whether the actions complained of do in fact inhibit the exercise of First Amendment rights. Nor should the fact that *40these particular persons are sufficiently uninhibited to bring this suit be any ground for objecting to their standing.” Id., at 79 n. 17, 444 F. 2d, at 954 n. 17.
Respondents may or may not be able to prove the case they allege. But I agree with the Court of Appeals that they are entitled to try. I would therefore affirm the remand to the District Court for a trial and determination of the issues specified by the Court of Appeals.