Frohwerk v. United States
E55132
Frohwerk v. United States is a 1919 U.S. Supreme Court case in which the Court upheld a conviction for antiwar newspaper articles, reinforcing broad federal power to punish speech deemed obstructive to World War I military recruitment.
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
First Amendment case
ⓘ
United States Supreme Court case ⓘ criminal law case ⓘ |
| areaOfLaw |
constitutional law
ⓘ
criminal law ⓘ freedom of expression ⓘ |
| authorOfMajorityOpinion | Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. ⓘ |
| category |
Espionage Act prosecution
ⓘ
United States free speech case ⓘ |
| citation | 249 U.S. 204 ⓘ |
| constitutionalProvisionInvolved |
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
ⓘ
freedom of speech clause ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| courtMembership | White Court ⓘ |
| decisionDate | 1919 ⓘ |
| decisionYear | 1919 ⓘ |
| doctrine | clear and present danger test (early application) ⓘ |
| era | World War I era ⓘ |
| fullCaseName | Frohwerk v. United States self-link ⓘ |
| governmentActionChallenged | federal criminal prosecution for antiwar publications ⓘ |
| hasJurisdiction | Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ |
| historicalContext | World War I ⓘ |
| holding |
The First Amendment did not bar prosecution of the defendant's antiwar publications under the circumstances of the case.
ⓘ
The Supreme Court held that the federal government could punish speech deemed to obstruct military recruitment during World War I. ⓘ The Supreme Court upheld the defendant's conviction for antiwar newspaper articles under the Espionage Act. ⓘ |
| impact |
contributed to early restrictive interpretation of First Amendment free speech protections
ⓘ
reinforced broad federal power to punish wartime speech deemed obstructive to military recruitment ⓘ |
| languageOfCourt | English ⓘ |
| legalIssue |
federal power to punish obstruction of military recruitment
ⓘ
freedom of speech ⓘ scope of First Amendment protections during wartime ⓘ |
| levelOfCourt | court of last resort ⓘ |
| opinionBy | Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. ⓘ |
| pageInUnitedStatesReports | 204 ⓘ |
| petitioner | Frohwerk ⓘ |
| precedentStatus | binding precedent in federal courts unless overruled or limited ⓘ |
| relatedCase |
Abrams v. United States
ⓘ
Debs v. United States ⓘ Schenck v. United States ⓘ |
| respondent |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| result | conviction affirmed ⓘ |
| statuteInterpreted | Espionage Act of 1917 ⓘ |
| subjectMatter |
antiwar newspaper articles
ⓘ
criticism of U.S. participation in World War I ⓘ |
| timePeriod | early 20th century ⓘ |
| unanimousDecision | true ⓘ |
| volumeInUnitedStatesReports | 249 ⓘ |
Referenced by (4)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.