Schacht v. United States
United States Supreme Court
398 U.S. 58 (1970)
- Written by Mary Phelan D'Isa, JD
Facts
Daniel Jay Schacht (defendant), while wearing a United States army uniform, performed in a skit in front of a Houston, Texas induction center protesting America’s presence in Vietnam in 1967. Schacht was indicted, tried, and convicted in a United States district court for violating 18 U.S.C. § 702, which makes it a crime for any person to wear, without authority, the uniform, or a distinctive part thereof, of any armed forces of the United States. Schacht was sentenced to pay a fine of $250 and to serve a six-month prison term. Schacht appealed and argued that 10 U.S.C. § 772(f) authorizes the wearing of military uniforms for actors portraying a member of the armed services in a theatrical production, so long as the dramatic portrayal does not tend to discredit the military. Schacht argued that his wearing of the uniform was authorized under §772(f) because his skit constituted a theatrical performance, and that as applied to him, the provision limiting such uses to dramatic portrayals that do not tend to discredit the military would impose an unconstitutional restraint on his free-speech rights under the First Amendment.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Black, J.)
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