14. Schenck v. United States provided the earliest determinations on limitations of free speech for wider public good
Following the United States’ entry into World War One, American society was deeply divided concerning the nation’s role in the overseas conflict. Opposed by those belonging to the radical left, particularly persons of Irish and German heritage, the Wilson Administration enacted a broad campaign of criminal enforcement against dissenters. As General Secretary of the Socialist Party, Charles Schenck oversaw the printing and mailing of more than 15,000 fliers to individuals selected for conscription, encouraging them to refuse military service. Convicted under Section Three of the Espionage Act of 1917, Schenck appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing such a punitive measure was contrary to his rights under the First Amendment.
However, issuing a unanimous opinion written by Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., the court reasoned Schenck’s criminal conviction was constitutionally sound. Arguing the First Amendment is not absolute in the provisions it offers, Holmes asserted “when a nation is at war, many things that might be said in time of peace are such a hindrance to its effort that their utterance will not be endured so long as men fight”, contending Schenck’s actions posed a “clear and present danger” to the war effort. Most famously, his opinion offered the example of “falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing panic”, an oft-used example ever since to explain the limitations of free speech in a civil society.