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Q: What was the effect of the clear and present danger ruling established in schenck vs us 1919?
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What was the effect of the Supreme Court decision described in this headline?

police were required to inform suspects of their right to remain silent and have a lawyer present during questioning the decision established the clear and present danger test judging free speech


What is the clear and probable danger test?

The "clear and probable danger" test (also called the "grave and probable danger" test); modified the "clear and present danger" test established in Schenck v. US (1919) by holding the identified threat (in this case the Communist Party's literature and plans to teach groups how to overthrow the US government by violence) need not be imminent, but may be judged by the probability that the speech would incite someone to violence in the future.Clear and Present DangerClear and present danger refers to the legal test established in the US Supreme Court case Schenck v. United States, (1919), used to determine appropriate limitations on the First Amendment protection of free speech.Charles Schenck, general secretary of the American Socialist Party was arrested and convicted for sending 15,000 anti-draft circulars through the mail to men scheduled to enter the military service. The circular called the draft law a violation of the 13th Amendment's prohibition of slavery. It went on to urge draftees not to "submit to intimidation," but to "petition for repeal" of the draft law.In this case, the danger was determined to be a risk to the United States' recruitment and conscription efforts during WW I, and in violation of the new 1917 Espionage Act; however, the concept was used as a test in many cases through the years. The clear and present danger doctrine has been superseded by less restrictive First Amendment limitations. The current test was established in Bradenburg v. Ohio, (1969), and requires the exercise of free speech to be such that it would probably incite "imminent lawless action" (an immediate or nearly immediate act of violence or other unlawful activity).Case Citation:Schenck v. United States, 249 US 47 (1919)Clear and Probable Danger (aka Grave and Probable Danger)The "grave and probable danger" test arose from the case of Dennis v. US, (1951), in which a number of Communist Party members were arrested for conspiracy under the Smith Act [1940].In their appeal to the US Supreme Court, the petitioners (defendants) challenged the constitutionality of the Smith Act on First Amendment grounds, claiming it violated their right to free speech. The Court held the government had a right to take reasonable action to protect itself, and that right included restricting free speech under certain circumstances.In reviewing the use of the "clear and present danger" test in cases occurring between 1919 (when the test was created) and 1951 (when Dennis was heard), the majority of the court majority concluded that punishment of speech is justified when a substantial interest is at stake, even if no imminent danger exists.In general, they accepted the definition of "clear and present danger" as Second Circuit Judge Learned Hand explained it:"In each case, [courts] must ask whether the gravity of the 'evil,' discounted by its improbability, justifies such invasion of free speech as is necessary to avoid the danger."The court reasoned the Communist party's advocacy of overthrowing the government by violence may create a threat to the federal government at some undetermined point, an idea that echoed the earlier "bad tendency" rule, which allowed a lower threshold of probability than the "present danger" criterion, which sought to link cause and effect more directly. The result of Dennis was to tip the scale more toward protecting government interest and national security than the population's free speech.Zacharia Chafee, considered the leading legal scholar on the First Amendment, whose books on the subject both criticized and influenced the courts, lamented that "The First Amendment now means that Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech and the press unless Congress does make a law abridging the freedom of speech and of the press."The United States fear of Communism during the cold war and McCarthy era resulted in tighter restriction of civil liberties.Case Citation:Dennis v. United States, 341 U.S. 494 (1951)


Which US Supreme Court case established the 'clear and present danger' rule regarding threat to national security?

The landmark case Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47 (1919) set a standard for determining reasonable restrictions on the First Amendment right to free speech based on whether the speech, written or spoken, constituted a "clear and present danger." In this case, the danger was determined to be a risk to the United States' recruitment and conscription efforts during WW I, and in violation of the new 1917 Espionage Act; however, the concept has been used as a test in many cases through the years. The criteria for what constitutes unprotected speech was subsequently narrowed in Bradenburg v. Ohio, 395 US 444 (1969) when the Court upheld the First Amendment rights of the Ku Klux Klan.Schenck v. United States is also the source of Holmes' famous quote about the First Amendment not protecting a person "shouting fire in a crowded theater."Background:Charles T. Schenck, General Secretary of the Socialist Party, was convicted under the recently enacted Espionage Act of 1917 of attempting to interfere with the operation of the United States Armed Forces by urging men to resist the draft.Schenck, in his capacity as an official of the Socialist Party, was in charge of the Socialist headquarters where the Executive Committee met. According to meeting minutes found on the premises, the committee had issued a resolution on August 13, 1917 that 15,000 leaflets should be printed and distributed to men who had been drafted or were eligible for the draft.Schenck undertook responsibility for printing and mailing the circulars, while his co-defendant, Dr. Elizabeth Baer (named in the full caption), had recorded the meeting minutes.Quoting the 13th Amendment prohibition against slavery and involuntary servitude, the Socialists claimed the 1917 Conscription Act (draft) violated the Constitution, and said that a conscript (draftee) is "little better than a convict." The pamphlet further claimed the draft was a "monstrous crime" against humanity, intended to benefit "Wall Street's chosen few." The literature also said, "Do not submit to intimidation," and exhorted men to "Assert Your Rights," but advocated only peaceful means of protest, such as petitioning for repeal of the Conscription Act.Both Schenck and Baer were convicted in District Court of violating the Espionage Act, and appealed directly to the US Supreme Court.Schenck before the US Supreme CourtIn a brief prepared for the Court, Charles Schenck and Elizabeth Baer argued that "the fair test of protection by the constitutional guarantee of free speech is whether an expression is made with sincere purpose to communicate honest opinion or belief, or whether it masks a primary intent to incite to forbidden action, or whether it does, in fact, incite to forbidden action."1Schenck further argued that his circular did not meet this standard because its clear intent was to persuade people to sign a petition urging Congress to repeal the Conscription Act, and did not recommend any action in violation of law.The Justices and Schenck apparently disagreed about Schenck's intent.Oliver Wendell Holmes, writing the unanimous opinion of the Court, concluded the pamphlet's intent was to influence drafted men to resist enlistment, which would obstruct the government's war effort. Holmes acknowledged the circular would have been protected under the First Amendment during peace time, but that the United States' engagement with Germany in war changed the context."The question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that the United States Congress has a right to prevent. It is a question of proximity and degree. 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, and that no Court could regard them as protected by any constitutional right."Citing the Espionage Act of 1917, Holmes later stated:"The statute of 1917 in section 4 (Comp. St. 1918 , 10212d) punishes conspiracies to obstruct as well as actual obstruction. If the act, (speaking, or circulating a paper,) its tendency and the intent with which it is done are the same, we perceive no ground for saying that success alone warrants making the act a crime."(Congress extended the meaning of the term "espionage" to include openly expressing public opinion under circumstances in which the expression could be construed as helping the enemy)The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the lower court ruling and found against Schenck, who was jailed six months for his crime, and Baer, who was jailed for 90 days."Clear and present danger" was a test established Holmes established in the majority opinion for the Court.Holmes' writing in Schenck was criticized for his use of the word "tendency," in describing the potential effect of exercising free speech. The "bad tendency" concept originated in 17th-century English case law, and its vagueness implied a potential for restricting free speech in the absence of actual danger.Holmes took the criticism to heart, and was more careful not to frame subsequent First Amendment issues in terms that undermined the Bill of Rights.These early cases that imposed rigid restrictions on free speech, ostensibly to preserve law and order, were overturned by Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 US 444 (1969), which held that the government cannot restrict inflammatory speech unless its intention is to incite, or is likely to incite, "imminent lawless action."1 Philip B. Kurland and Gerhard Casper, eds, 18 Landmark Briefs of the Supreme Court of the United States: Constitutional Law 1037-38 [University Publication 1975]Case Citation:Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47 (1919)For more information about the lower court case, United States v. Schenck et al., see Related Links, below.


What was the schenck vs US case about?

Schenck v. United States (1919) was a major United States Supreme Court case and remains controversial in terms of its implications to the 1st Amendment of rights to freedom of speech and expression. In this case Schenk was handing out anti-draft literature to new enlistees. The Court surprisingly ruled that making Schenks actions were not constitutionally protected due to the ideas intention and the likelihood of presenting a definitive danger.


What is the grave and probable danger test?

The "grave and probable danger" test (also called "clear and probable danger") was a modification of the "clear and present danger" test first established in Schenck v. US, (1919). In Dennis v. US, (1951), the US Supreme Court upheld the criminal convictions of Communist Party leaders found guilty of violating the Alien Registration Act of 1940 (aka Smith Act) for conspiring to recruit and train groups of citizens who would advocate and teach the violent overthrow of US government.The petitioners challenged the constitutionality of the §§ 2 and 3 of the Smith Act on the grounds that it infringed their First Amendment right to free speech.Part of the contested Smith Act reads:"(1) to knowingly or willfully advocate, abet, advise, or teach the duty, necessity, desirability, or propriety of overthrowing or destroying any government in the United States by force or violence, or by the assassination of any officer of any such government;""(2) with intent to cause the overthrow or destruction of any government in the United States, to print, publish, edit, issue, circulate, sell, distribute, or publicly display any written or printed matter advocating, advising, or teaching the duty, necessity, desirability, or propriety of overthrowing or destroying any government in the United States by force or violence;""(3) to organize or help to organize any society, group, or assembly of persons who teach, advocate, or encourage the overthrow or destruction of any government in the United States by force or violence; or to be or become a member of, or affiliate with, any such society, group, or assembly of persons, knowing the purposes thereof."The Court held the Smith Act to be constitutional because the government could be changed by peaceful and legal means, and had a right to protect itself from the forces of a revolution. The government's interest created a valid exception to the Free Speech clause because its intent was not to restrict academic discussions of revolution, but to prevent incitement to revolution.The Court did not address the petitioners' (defendants') conviction because they were found guilty of conspiracy, but the question before the court dealt with free speech. ("Did the Smith Act's restrictions on speech violate the First Amendment?")Clear and Probable Danger (aka Grave and Probable Danger)The "grave and probable danger" test arose from the case of Dennis v. US, (1951), in which a number of Communist Party members were arrested for conspiracy under the Smith Act [1940].In their appeal to the US Supreme Court, the petitioners (defendants) challenged the constitutionality of the Smith Act on First Amendment grounds, claiming it violated their right to free speech. The Court held the government had a right to take reasonable action to protect itself, and that right included restricting free speech under certain circumstances.In reviewing the use of the "clear and present danger" test in cases occurring between 1919 (when the test was created) and 1951 (when Dennis was heard), the majority of the court majority concluded that punishment of speech is justified when a substantial interest is at stake, even if no imminent danger exists.In general, the Court accepted the definition of "clear and present danger" as Second Circuit Judge Learned Hand explained it:"In each case, [courts] must ask whether the gravity of the 'evil,' discounted by its improbability, justifies such invasion of free speech as is necessary to avoid the danger."The court reasoned the Communist party's advocacy of overthrowing the government by violence may create a threat to the federal government at some undetermined point, an idea that echoed the earlier "bad tendency" rule, which allowed a lower threshold of probability than the "present danger" criterion, which sought to link cause and effect more directly. The result of Dennis was to tip the scale more toward protecting government interest and national security than the population's free speech.Neither the words "grave and probable danger" nor "clear and probable danger" are explicitly written in the opinion of the Court or in the concurring and dissenting opinions, but were derived later as shorthand for the Judge hand's hybridization of Holmes' test. The substitution of "probable danger" for "present danger" is intended to allow the US tighter vigilance over words and acts it considered threatening to the integrity of the government. It is important to note, however, that "grave and probable danger" is a more restrictive modification Holmes' "clear and present danger," test, not a complete departure from the original standard.Zacharia Chafee, considered the leading legal scholar on the First Amendment, whose books on the subject both criticized and influenced the courts, lamented that "The First Amendment now means that Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech and the press unless Congress does make a law abridging the freedom of speech and of the press."The United States' fear of Communism during the cold war and McCarthy era resulted in tighter restriction of civil liberties.Case Citation:Dennis v. United States, 341 U.S. 494 (1951)

Related questions

What was the effect of the decision on Schenck v United states?

This court case upheld the government's right to limit or restrict your rights during a wartime. These rights include those such as freedom of speech and freedom of the press. This also established the "clear and present danger" test. So if the US is in a wartime, it can be deemed that certain individuals' actions like talking badly about the government is dangerous to the wartime effort. Hope this helps!


What was the effect of the Supreme Court decision described in this headline?

police were required to inform suspects of their right to remain silent and have a lawyer present during questioning the decision established the clear and present danger test judging free speech


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What is the clear and probable danger test?

The "clear and probable danger" test (also called the "grave and probable danger" test); modified the "clear and present danger" test established in Schenck v. US (1919) by holding the identified threat (in this case the Communist Party's literature and plans to teach groups how to overthrow the US government by violence) need not be imminent, but may be judged by the probability that the speech would incite someone to violence in the future.Clear and Present DangerClear and present danger refers to the legal test established in the US Supreme Court case Schenck v. United States, (1919), used to determine appropriate limitations on the First Amendment protection of free speech.Charles Schenck, general secretary of the American Socialist Party was arrested and convicted for sending 15,000 anti-draft circulars through the mail to men scheduled to enter the military service. The circular called the draft law a violation of the 13th Amendment's prohibition of slavery. It went on to urge draftees not to "submit to intimidation," but to "petition for repeal" of the draft law.In this case, the danger was determined to be a risk to the United States' recruitment and conscription efforts during WW I, and in violation of the new 1917 Espionage Act; however, the concept was used as a test in many cases through the years. The clear and present danger doctrine has been superseded by less restrictive First Amendment limitations. The current test was established in Bradenburg v. Ohio, (1969), and requires the exercise of free speech to be such that it would probably incite "imminent lawless action" (an immediate or nearly immediate act of violence or other unlawful activity).Case Citation:Schenck v. United States, 249 US 47 (1919)Clear and Probable Danger (aka Grave and Probable Danger)The "grave and probable danger" test arose from the case of Dennis v. US, (1951), in which a number of Communist Party members were arrested for conspiracy under the Smith Act [1940].In their appeal to the US Supreme Court, the petitioners (defendants) challenged the constitutionality of the Smith Act on First Amendment grounds, claiming it violated their right to free speech. The Court held the government had a right to take reasonable action to protect itself, and that right included restricting free speech under certain circumstances.In reviewing the use of the "clear and present danger" test in cases occurring between 1919 (when the test was created) and 1951 (when Dennis was heard), the majority of the court majority concluded that punishment of speech is justified when a substantial interest is at stake, even if no imminent danger exists.In general, they accepted the definition of "clear and present danger" as Second Circuit Judge Learned Hand explained it:"In each case, [courts] must ask whether the gravity of the 'evil,' discounted by its improbability, justifies such invasion of free speech as is necessary to avoid the danger."The court reasoned the Communist party's advocacy of overthrowing the government by violence may create a threat to the federal government at some undetermined point, an idea that echoed the earlier "bad tendency" rule, which allowed a lower threshold of probability than the "present danger" criterion, which sought to link cause and effect more directly. The result of Dennis was to tip the scale more toward protecting government interest and national security than the population's free speech.Zacharia Chafee, considered the leading legal scholar on the First Amendment, whose books on the subject both criticized and influenced the courts, lamented that "The First Amendment now means that Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech and the press unless Congress does make a law abridging the freedom of speech and of the press."The United States fear of Communism during the cold war and McCarthy era resulted in tighter restriction of civil liberties.Case Citation:Dennis v. United States, 341 U.S. 494 (1951)


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