Case Categories: Espionage Act

• Abrams v. United States (1919)

  The dissenting opinion in Abrams v. United States (1919) advanced the free marketplace of ideas even though the majority opinion stifled First Amendment...

• Debs v. United States (1919)

  In Debs v. United States (1919), a low point in the protection of free speech during wartime, the Court sustained a socialist leader's conviction under the...

• Dennis v. United States (1951)

  Dennis v. United States (1951) applied the First Amendment clear and present danger test to uphold the convictions of U.S.-based communists for their political...

• Frohwerk v. United States (1919)

  Frohwerk v. United States (1919) upheld a conviction for an article criticizing World War I while also affirming that First Amendment rights do not disappear...

• Gilbert v. Minnesota (1920)

  In Gilbert v. Minnesota, the Supreme Court upheld the conviction of Joseph Gilbert for criticizing conscription and U.S. participation in World War I...

• Hartzel v. United States (1944)

  Hartzel v. United States (1944) overturned a conviction under the Espionage Act of 1917, shifting toward tolerance of First Amendment speech criticizing the war...

• Pierce v. United States (1920)

  Pierce v. United States (1920), the last ruling regarding the criminal sections of the Espionage Act, represented another setback for civil liberties in the...

• Schaefer v. United States (1920)

  Schaefer v. United States (1920), which upheld convictions for reports hindering the war effort, was representative of setbacks to First Amendment freedoms...

• Schenck v. United States (1919)

  Schenck v. United States (1919) demonstrated the limits to the First Amendment during wartime and affirmed the conviction of Charles Schenck for violating the...

• Sugarman v. United States (1919)

  Sugarman v. United States (1919) upheld a conviction under the Espionage Act against a challenge that the judge had not given instructions about First Amendment...

• United States ex rel. Milwaukee Social Democratic Publishing Co. v. Burleson (1921)

  Milwaukee Social Democratic Publishing Co. v. Burleson (1921) denied mailing privileges to a socialist newspaper. Dissenters said the decision violated the...

• United States v. Morison (4th Cir.) (1988)

  United States v. Morison (4th Cir. 1988) upheld the conviction of a Navy employee who had leaked top secret photos. Judges ruled the leak was not protected by...