Home > West's Encyclopedia of American Law > Schenck v. United States

Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47, 39 S. Ct. 247, 63 L. Ed. 470 (1919), is a seminal case in CONSTITUTIONAL LAW, representing the first time that the U.S. Supreme Court heard a FIRST AMENDMENT challenge to a federal law on free speech grounds. In upholding the constitutionality of the ESPIONAGE ACT OF 1917 (40 Stat. 217), the Supreme Court articulated the CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER doctrine, a test that still influences the manner in which state and federal courts decide free speech issues. This doctrine pioneered new territory by drawing a line that separates protected speech, such as the public criticism of government and its...