Secretary of the Navy v. Huff

The question in this case is whether Navy and Marine Corps regulations violate 10 U. S. C. § 1034 by requiring military personnel on an overseas base to obtain command approval before circulating petitions addressed to Members of Congress. Section 1034 provides that “[n]o person may restrict any member of an armed force in communicating with a member of Congress, unless the communication is unlawful or violates a regulation necessary to the security of the United States.”

I

In 1974, Frank L. Huff, Robert A. Falatine, and Robert E. Gabrielson were serving in the Marine Corps at the United States…