LAD #30: Schenck vs. United States

In the Schenck vs U.S. verdict, Schenck was found guilty by the Supreme Court on three accounts: exercising conspiratorial actions, conspiring to commit a crime against the U.S., and unrightfully using the postal system to send "unmailable" items.  A secretary to the Socialist party during WWI, Schenck was arrested and put on trial for distributing "anti-war" pamphlets that caused unease and defiance amongst troops drafted into the Great War.  Falling back on the Constitution's 1st Amendment, Schenck argued that the governmental laws (Conscription Act and the Selective Service Act) were unconstitutional since they violated the 13th Amendment -- forbid the practice of undesired labor.  Furthermore, Schenck indicated that people had the right to protest acts such as these.  When put on trial, Schenck stubbornly claimed that his right to freedom of the press was created and established by the 1st Amendment of the Constitution.  Despite this, however, the Supreme Court felt that this right was not consistent with the manner in which the crime was committed as his rights to free speech caused a "clear and present danger" to the safety of those around him.  His actions were synonymous with shouting fire in a theatre -- it would cause widespread chaos and obstruct the serenity of his surroundings.