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Schenck vs. United States
Schenck and another socialist declared that the draft was violating the 13th amendment against involuntary servitude. They urged the people to disobey the draft and the United States convicted them for abusing their freedom of speech. -
Chaplinsky vs. New Hampshire
Walter Chaplinsky was publicly announcing his beliefs about other religions. He was doing so in such a way that was deliberately meant to offend people of other religions. He was convicted under a state law prohibiting intentionally offensive speech. -
Terminiello vs. Chicago
Arthur Terminiello spoke to a Catholic Organization Chicago in February 1946. In his speech he expressed his hate for liberals, Communists, and Jews. The crowd was angered and he was arrested, however the Supreme Court overturned his conviction in 1949. -
Tinker vs. Des Moines
In 1969, some junior high students wore black arm bands to school to protest the Vietnam War. The school did not allow them to keep the arm bands and the parents sued the district. The Supreme Court ruled that the students had every right to protest as long as they were not disrupting classes and things remained school appropriate. -
Brandenburg vs. Ohio
Ku Klux Klan leader, Clarence Brandenburg, made a speech at a rally and was later charged with advocating crime, terrorism, and violence. The 1st amendment does not protect hate speech. -
Cohen vs. California
Paul Cohen, 19, wore an offensive jacket protesting the draft and Vietnam War. He was arrested and charged with willingly disturbing the peace. -
Board of Education vs. Pico
In 1982, the Board received a list of books from parents that they believed should be removed from the school library. It was decided that 5 out of the 9 should be returned. The Board, however, overruled this and only returned 2. Steven Pico led a group of other angry high school students and took their case to court. The court ruled that the Board was only required to remove a certain amount of books -
Texas vs Johnson
Gregory Lee Johnson burned the American flag in front of Dallas City Hall in protest of Reagan. He was arrested and jailed for a year and fined $2000. The Texas Court later appealed the decision. -
R.A.V. vs. City of St. Paul
A Minnesota teen burned a cross into an African American couple's front lawn. He was charged under the city's crime ordinance banning symbols that could arouse anger or alarm to someone of another gender, religion, color, etc. -
United States vs. Alvarez
In 2012, the Supreme Court was dealing with a case involving the Stolen Valor Act. Xavier Alvarez was charged with falsely claiming his service and awards in the military. Some courts claimed the statements falsity wasn't enough so they had dismissed this charge. He was still arrested for other counts of fraud.
