Whitney v. California
United States Supreme Court
274 U.S. 357, 47 S.Ct. 641, 71 L.Ed. 1095 (1927)
- Written by Megan Petersen, JD
Facts
California’s Criminal Syndicalism Act (CCSA) prohibited “advocating, teaching, or aiding and abetting the commission of crime, sabotage, or unlawful acts of force and violence or unlawful methods of terrorism as a means of accomplishing a change in the industrial ownership or control or effecting any political change.” Whitney (plaintiff) was a member of the Communist Labor Party of California and was prosecuted for violating the CCSA after she actively participated in organizing a Communist convention. She was convicted in the superior court of Alameda County, California, and challenged her conviction on the grounds that the CCSA violated her freedom of speech under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Sanford, J.)
Concurrence (Brandeis, J.)
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