''Hess v. Indiana'', 414 U.S. 105 (1973), was a

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

case involving the

First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

that reaffirmed and clarified the

imminent lawless action "Imminent lawless action" is one of several legal standards American courts use to determine whether certain speech is protected under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. The standard was first established in 1969 in the Unite ...

test first articulated in ''

Brandenburg v. Ohio ''Brandenburg v. Ohio'', 395 U.S. 444 (1969), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court interpreting the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Court held that the government cannot punish inflammatory speech unless that s ...

'' (1969). ''Hess'' is still cited by courts to protect speech threatening future lawless action.

Background

The case involved an antiwar protest on the campus of

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship campus of Indiana University and, with over 40,000 students, its largest c ...

. Between 100 and 150 protesters were in the streets. The sheriff and his deputies then proceeded to clear the streets of the protestors. As the sheriff was passing Gregory Hess, one of the members of the crowd, Hess uttered, "We'll take the fucking street later" or "We'll take the fucking street again." Hess was convicted in Indiana state court of disorderly conduct.

Decision

The Supreme Court reversed Hess's conviction because Hess' statement, at worst, "amounted to nothing more than advocacy of illegal action at some indefinite future time." In contrast to such an indefinite future time, the Court emphasized the word ''imminent'' in the "''imminent'' lawless action" test of ''Brandenburg''. Because the evidence did not show that Hess' speech was intended and likely to produce "''imminent'' disorder", the state could not punish Hess' speech. In addition, Hess' speech was not directed at any particular person or group. As a result, "it cannot be said that he was advocating, in the normal sense, any action." For similar reasons, Hess' speech also could not be considered " fighting words" under '' Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire'' (1942).''Hess'', 414 U.S. at 107-109

References

External links

*
Thomson Reuters blog post: TODAY IN 1973: SUPREME COURT EXPANDS FREE SPEECH IN HESS V. INDIANA
{{US1stAmendment, speech, state=expanded 1973 in United States case law Illegal speech in the United States United States Free Speech Clause case law United States Supreme Court cases United States Supreme Court cases of the Burger Court

Background

Decision

See also

References

Further reading

External links