Download Schenck vs U.S.

Schenck vs U.S.
Presented By: Alyssa, Ian, Johnny
Who
Charles T. Schenck v. United States, Elizabeth Baer
v. United States
What
Schenck v. United States was the first in a line of Supreme Court Cases defining the
modern understanding of the First Amendment. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell
Holmes, Jr. wrote the often-cited opinion in the case, because of events that were not
publicly known at the time.
Where
Supreme Court of the United States, Washington DC Supreme Court of the
United States, Washington DC
When
Argued January 8–10, 1919
Decided March 3, 1919
Why
The government alleged that Schenck violated the act by conspiring "to cause
insubordination ... in the military and naval forces of the United States."
Schenck responded that the Espionage Act violated the First Amendment of
the Constitution, which forbids Congress from making any law abridging the
freedom of speech.
Conclusion
The Court, in a unanimous opinion written by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.,
held that Schenck's criminal conviction was constitutional. The statute only applied
to successful obstructions of the draft, but common-law precedents allowed
prosecution for attempts that were dangerously close to success. Attempts made
by speech or writing could be punished like other attempted crimes; the First
Amendment did not protect speech encouraging men to resist induction, because,
"when a nation is at war, many things that might be said in time of peace are such
a hindrance to its effort that their utterance will not be endured so long as men
fight, and that no Court could regard them as protected by any constitutional
right."[6] In other words, the court held, the circumstances of wartime allow greater
restrictions on free speech than would be allowed during peacetime, if only
because new and greater dangers are present.
Work Cited
PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.
"Schenck v. United States." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 26 Sept.
2016.