 The defendants appealed the Second Circuit 's decision to the Supreme Court in Dennis v. United States . During the Supreme Court appeal , the defendants were assisted by the National Lawyers Guild and the ACLU . The Supreme Court limited its consideration to the questions of the constitutionality of the Smith Act and the jury instructions , and did not rule on the issues of impartiality , jury composition , or informant witnesses . The 6 – 2 decision was issued on June 4 , 1951 , and upheld Hand 's decision . Chief Justice Fred Vinson 's opinion stated that the First Amendment does not require that the government must wait " until the putsch is about to be executed , the plans have been laid and the signal is awaited " before it interrupts seditious plots . In his opinion , Vinson endorsed the balancing approach used by Judge Hand : 
