Supreme Court Upholds Law Barring 'Material Support' for Terror Groups

WASHINGTON, June 21, 2010 -- A six to three majority of the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a key provision of the Patriot Act that makes it a crime for humanitarian groups to provide material support, including expert advice, to any individual who could potentially be connected to government-designated terrorist groups.

Humanitarian groups had argued that this provision violated their First Amendment rights to provide nonviolent conflict resolution to groups that have terrorist designations but also work for humanitarian purposes.

But Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, said that it is difficult to segregate the legitimate activities of some groups from their support of terrorism, and warned that material support "frees up" other resources within the organization that may be put to violent ends.

"Given the sensitive interests in national security and foreign affairs at stake, the political branches have adequately substantiated their determination that, to serve the government's interest in preventing terrorism it was necessary to prohibit providing material support in the form of training, expert advice, personnel and services to foreign terrorists groups, even if the supporters meant to promote only the groups' nonviolent ends," Roberts wrote.

Justice Stephen Breyer, who was joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor in the dissenting opinion, took the unusual step of reading his dissent from the bench.

"I believe application of the statute as the government interprets it would gravely and without adequate justification injure interests of the kind the First Amendment protects," said Breyer.

"The government has not made the strong showing necessary to justify under the First Amendment the criminal prosecution of those who engage in these activities. All the activities involve the communication and advocacy of political ideas and lawful means of achieving political ends," he said.

During oral arguments, Solicitor General Elena Kagan had called the material support law a "vital weapon" in the fight against international terrorism. "Hezbollah builds bombs. Hezbollah also builds homes. What Congress decided was when you help Hezbollah build homes, you are also helping Hezbollah build bombs," she said.