Fitzgerald v. Philadelphia

Opinion by

Me. Chief Justice Horace Stern,

The question is the constitutionality of the Pennsylvania Loyalty Act of December 22, 1951, P. L. 1726, with special reference to the oath prescribed in Section 5 thereof.

Plaintiff was employed as a Staff Nurse in the operating room of the Philadelphia General Hospital from October 1, 1949, to April 18, 1952, on which latter date she was dismissed because she declined to take the oath required by the statute. At the very outset it is only fair to plaintiff to state that, admittedly, she is utterly opposed to Communism and is in all respects loyal to…