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Carl Lambert

Released
Gender:Male
Race:White
Era:1950s
State:California
Support
Communism Communist Party USA
Carl Lambert

Biography

Carl Lambert was a California Communist Party organizer arrested in the July 1951 Smith Act roundup. High bail kept the California defendants in federal custody while they challenged the bail orders. A jury convicted him on August 5, 1952, and the court imposed five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. He remained free on appeal bond after the trial, and the Supreme Court reversed the conviction on June 17, 1957.

Case

Charges: Smith Act — conspiring to advocate the overthrow of the government (California CP leader).
Arrested: Jul 31, 1951
Sentenced: Aug 8, 1952
Incarcerated: July 1951
Sentence: Five years in federal prison and a $10,000 fine. He remained free on appeal bond after trial; the exact endpoint of the 1951 pretrial detention remains unresolved.
Judge: William C. Mathes
Convicted: Yes