LAD/Blog #31: Schenck V. United States

Schenck V. United States (1919)

•  Schenck was charged in 1919 with an intended plan to act against the Espionage Act made two years prior
• He made attempts to encourage insubordination within the military in order to block the recruitment going on during that time period
• The vote was unanimous within the Supreme Court, which decided that only Congress has the right to limit rights stated in the First Amendment during times of war (such as the freedom of speech, which was violated by Schneck)
• The "clear and present danger" mentioned by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. is the desire of people to violate rights guaranteed to all by the Constitution (in this case, the First Amendment), bringing an unwelcome evil into the country
• Holmes explains how cases like these vary based on the circumstances at the time; for example, during wartime, offenses that would otherwise be overlooked will not be left  unpunished

  

  Besides both being Supreme Court cases, Marbury V. Madison and Schneck V. United States had more in common by becoming establishment cases.  In Schneck V. United States, it was established that Congress had the right to determine punishments during times of war and times of peace, and that these punishments could and would be different depending on the time if anyone was denied basic rights guaranteed in the Constitution.  Likewise, the case Marbury V. Madison stated that the Supreme Court had the right to declare a law unconstitutional, also known as judicial review.  The following cases would not have been possible or justified without this new concept of judicial review, and it set the tone for the judiciary branch of government for years to come.