Frohwerk v. United States explained

Litigants:Frohwerk v. United States
Arguedate:January 27
Argueyear:1919
Decidedate:March 10
Decideyear:1919
Fullname:Frohwerk v. United States
Usvol:249
Uspage:204
Parallelcitations:39 S. Ct. 249; 63 L. Ed. 561; 1919 U.S. LEXIS 2193
Majority:Holmes
Joinmajority:unanimous

Frohwerk v. United States, 249 U.S. 204 (1919), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court upheld the conviction of a newspaperman for violating the Espionage Act of 1917 in connection with criticism of U.S. involvement in foreign wars.

In a unanimous decision written by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, the Court found that this criticism constituted the "willful obstruction" of America's recruitment efforts and was not protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

As in Schenck v. United States, also decided in 1919, the speech might have been protected were the country not at war.[1]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Parker. Richard . Frohwerk v. United States(1919) . Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University . December 15, 2023. February 2, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240202095835/https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/frohwerk-v-united-states/ . February 2, 2024.