| Laird v. Tatum | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued March 27, 1972 Decided June 26, 1972 | |
| Full case name | Melvin Robert Laird, Secretary of Defense, et al. v. Tatum, et al. |
| Citations | 408 U.S. 1 (more) 92 S. Ct. 2318; 33 L. Ed. 2d 154; 1972 U.S. LEXIS 25 |
| Holding | |
| Respondents' claim that their First Amendment rights are chilled, due to the mere existence of this data-gathering system, does not constitute a justiciable controversy based on the record in this case, disclosing as it does no showing of objective harm or threat of specific future harm. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Burger, joined by White, Blackmun, Powell, Rehnquist |
| Dissent | Douglas, joined by Marshall |
| Dissent | Brennan, joined by Stewart, Marshall |
Laird v. Tatum, 408 U.S. 1 (1972), was a case in which the United States Supreme Court dismissed for lack of ripeness a claim in which the plaintiff accused the U.S. Army of alleged unlawful "surveillance of lawful citizen's political activity." The appellant's specific nature of the harm caused by the surveillance was that it chilled the First Amendment rights of all citizens and undermined that right to express political dissent.