Debs v. United States, 249 U.S. 211 (1919)
Speech opposing war efforts that would have the intended and probable effect of obstructing recruiting is not protected just because it is part of a general program and expressions of a general and conscientious belief.
Eugene Debs delivered a public speech that incited his audience to interfere with military recruitment during the First World War. He was indicted for violating the Espionage Act of 1917 because he was allegedly attempting to cause insubordination and refusal of duty in the U.S. military, as well as attempting to obstruct recruitment and enlistment in the U.S. military. He appealed his conviction on First Amendment grounds.
OpinionsMajority
- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (Author)
- Edward Douglass White
- Joseph McKenna
- William Rufus Day
- Willis Van Devanter
- Mahlon Pitney
- James Clark McReynolds
- John Hessin Clarke
- Louis Dembitz Brandeis
Anyone enrolled under the Act of May 18, 1917 could be considered part of the U.S. military, as the jury instructions properly provided. The defendant clearly violated the law by encouraging insubordination and obstruction of recruitment. This posed a clear and present danger to the American war effort, so First Amendment protections should not apply.
Case CommentaryIn the historical moment when this case was decided, shortly after the First World War, the Court appeared to find that the danger posed by the speech was more probable and imminent than it seems from a detached perspective in retrospect.
