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Schenck v. United States

Significance, "largely Instrumental In Sending The Circulars About", Clear And Present Danger Test, Further Readings



Appellant

Charles T. Schenck

Appellee

United States

Appellant's Claim

That his speech was protected by the First Amendment.

Chief Lawyers for Appellant

Henry J. Gibbons, Henry John Nelson

Chief Lawyer for Appellee

John Lord O'Brian

Justices for the Court

Louis D. Brandeis, John Hessin Clarke, William Rufus Day, Oliver Wendell Holmes (writing for the Court), Charles Evans Hughes, Joseph McKenna, James Clark McReynolds, Willis Van Devanter, Edward Douglass White

Justices Dissenting

None

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

3 March 1919

Decision

Schenck's speech was not protected by the First Amendment and his conviction under the Espionage Act was upheld.

Related Cases

  • Abrams v. United States, 250 U.S. 616 (1919).
  • Gitlow v. United States, 268 U.S. 652 (1925).

Sources

Abraham, Henry J. and Barbara A. Perry. Freedom & The Court: Civil Rights & Liberties in the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.

Additional topics

Law Library - American Law and Legal InformationNotable Trials and Court Cases - 1918 to 1940