Gitlow v. New York (1925)

Benjamin Gitlow

A man named Benjamin Gitlow was convicted for violating the New york Criminal Anarchy Act. Criminal anarchy is defined as "the doctrine that organized government should be overthrown by force of violence, or by assassination of the executive head or any of the executive officials of government, or by any unlawful means". His publishings of overthrowing the government, based on the Communist Manifesto, violated this act according to the state of New York. The case was sent to the Supreme Court because First Amendment rights of free speech and press were called into question. The Court ruled 7 to 2 that Gitlow should stay convicted because his work had the potential to create "a clear and present danger...that Congress has a right to prevent". Justice Holmes argued against this, saying that citizens should be given the right to state their opinion, an idea was not being forced upon others, and the minority that accepted the belief was too minor to be taken seriously. My decision in this case would be more split down the middle than the Court had decided. I feel that individuals have the ability to accept an idea and are not so easily persuaded, and if the "clear and present danger" rule applies to society now, that some members of the Tea Party should be reprimanded for causing social damage. I believe that this is more circumstantial than anything, because if a hostile and violent takeover was imminent, then the convictions should stand.
The link provided is an expansion of the views of the Court and the dissenting opinion