LAD #26 Schenck v. United States

The case Schenck v. United States was set to determine whether Charles Schenck possessed a First Amendment freedom of speech against the draft during World War I. Schenck was a Socialist and he circulated an anti-draft flyer to recently drafted men. The flyer also discussed the morally wrong capitalist system. Schenck was charged with conspiracy to violate the Espionage Act of 1917 by attempting to cause insubordination in the military and to obstruct recruitment. The court, in a unanimous opinion written by held that Schenck's criminal conviction was constitutional. The First Amendment did not protect speech encouraging insubordination, since the circumstances of wartime permit greater restrictions on free speech than would be allowable during peacetime.