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Frohwerk v. United States

249 U.S. 204 (1919)

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Frohwerk v. United States

United States Supreme Court
249 U.S. 204 (1919)

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Facts

Two months after the United States’ entry into World War I, Congress enacted the Espionage Act of 1917 (the EA). The EA made it a crime for any person during time of war, to “willfully cause or attempt to cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty in the military or the naval forces of the United States.” In 1915, the Missouri Staats Zeiung, a newspaper published in Kansas City, Missouri, issued a series of 12 articles written by Jacob Frohwerk (defendant) denouncing the United States’ involvement in World War I. Frohwerk was indicted by the United States government in federal district court for 13 counts of violating the EA based on his involvement with the newspaper. At trial, Frohwerk was convicted of all but one count, and he was fined and imprisoned. Frohwerk challenged his conviction on the grounds that the EA violated his First Amendment rights to freedom of speech, and the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Holmes, J.)

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Casebooks

Constitutional Law
First Amendment