POSC402 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Espionage Act Of 1917
7 Oct 2018
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A trial court found frohwerk guilty and sentenced him to a fine and imprisonment. On appeal, frohwerk challenged the statute on the ground that it violated his right to free speech under the first amendment. In a unanimous opinion authored by justice oliver wendell holmes, the court reasserted its conclusion in schenck v. united states (1919) that the first amendment does not "give immunity for every possible use of language. " The court dismissed the argument that frohwerk"s intention was never to obstruct recruitment, noting that "conspiracy to obstruct recruiting would be criminal even if no means were agreed upon specifically by which to accomplish the intent. " The espionage act of 1917 made it a crime to "convey information with intent to interfere with the operation or success of the armed forces of the united states or to promote the success of its enemies. " This had the effect of constraining sedition and political speech.
