Norman Leonard's files related to civil liberties defense cases, including Smith Act cases tried against the Communist Party in New York, Hawaii, and California; the defense of those accused of illegal immigration under the Security Act; files related to the analysis of the McCarran Act and McCarran-Walter Act; additional Communist Party defense case files, which include the Archie Brown and Schniederman cases; files related to charges initiated by the U. S. House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC); files related to the California Loyalty Oath cases; and files related to the International Labor Defense. Additionally the series contains documents related to the defense of the California Labor School (CLS) during the Subversive Activities Control Board (SACB) hearing in 1955-1956. Also found are Norman Leonard's legal files related to civil rights cases, the Free Speech Movement, and San Francisco State strike cases.