Thornhill v. Alabama
Significance, Court Upholds Labor Pickets As Exercise Of Freedom Of Speech, Related Cases
Peititioner
Byron Thornhill
Respondent
State of Alabama
Petitioner's Claim
That an Alabama statute prohibiting all picketing, even peaceful labor demonstrations, violated his First Amendment right to freedom of speech.
Chief Lawyers for Petitioner
James J. Mayfield, Joseph A. Padway
Chief Lawyer for Respondent
William H. Loeb
Justices for the Court
Hugo Lafayette Black, William O. Douglas, Felix Frankfurter, Charles Evans Hughes, Frank Murphy (writing for the Court), Stanley Forman Reed, Owen Josephus Roberts, Harlan Fiske Stone
Justices Dissenting
James Clark McReynolds
Place
Washington, D.C.
Date of Decision
22 April 1940
Decision
The Supreme Court overturned the anti-picketing statute.
Further Readings
- Bracken, Harry M. Freedom of Speech: Words Are Not Deeds. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1994.
- Gordon, Colin. New Deals: Business, Labor, and Politics in America, 1920-1935. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1994.
- Whitehead, John W. The Right to Picket and the Freedom of Public Discourse. Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1984.
Additional topics
- Tyson Brother v. Banton - "a Public Interest", A Round Of Dissents, Scalping
- Thomas Massie Trial: 1932 - Mother-in-law Takes Charge, "is This Your Handwriting?"
- Thornhill v. Alabama - Significance
- Thornhill v. Alabama - Court Upholds Labor Pickets As Exercise Of Freedom Of Speech
- Thornhill v. Alabama - Related Cases
- Other Free Encyclopedias
Law Library - American Law and Legal InformationNotable Trials and Court Cases - 1918 to 1940