Source: https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/Brandenburg_v._Ohio/Concurrence_Douglas
Timestamp: 2019-04-19 21:49:25+00:00

Document:
Frohwerk v. United States, 249 U.S. 204, also authored by Mr. Justice Holmes, involved prosecution and punishment for publication of articles very critical of the war effort in World War I. Schenck was referred to as a conviction for obstructing security "by words of persuasion." Id. at 206. And the conviction in Frohwerk was sustained because "the circulation of the paper was [p451] in quarters where a little breath would be enough to kindle a flame." Id. at 209.
Debs v. United States, 249 U.S. 211, was the third of the trilogy of the 1918 Term. Debs was convicted of speaking in opposition to the war where his "opposition was so expressed that its natural and intended effect would be to obstruct recruiting." Id. at 215.
If that was intended, and if, in all the circumstances, that would be its probable effect, it would not be protected by reason of its being part of a general program and expressions of a general and conscientious belief.
It is only the present danger of immediate evil or an intent to bring it about that warrants Congress in setting a limit to the expression of opinion where private rights are not concerned. Congress certainly cannot forbid all effort to change the mind of the country.
Another instance was Schaefer v. United States, 251 U.S. 466, in which Mr. Justice Brandeis, joined by Mr. Justice Holmes, dissented. A third was Pierce v. United States, 252 U.S. 239, in which, again, Mr. Justice Brandeis, joined by Mr. Justice Holmes, dissented.
Those, then, were the World War I cases that put the gloss of "clear and present danger" on the First Amendment. Whether the war power -- the greatest leveler of them all -- is adequate to sustain that doctrine is debatable. [p452] The dissents in Abrams, Schaefer, and Pierce show how easily "clear and present danger" is manipulated to crush what Brandeis called "[t]he fundamental right of free men to strive for better conditions through new legislation and new institutions" by argument and discourse (Pierce v. United States, supra, at 273) even in time of war. Though I doubt if the "clear and present danger" test is congenial to the First Amendment in time of a declared war, I am certain it is not reconcilable with the First Amendment in days of peace.
The Court quite properly overrules Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357, which involved advocacy of ideas which the majority of the Court deemed unsound and dangerous.
Every idea is an incitement. It offers itself for belief, and, if believed, it is acted on unless some other belief outweighs it or some failure of energy stifles the movement at its birth. The only difference between the expression of an opinion and an incitement in the narrower sense is the speaker's enthusiasm for the result. Eloquence may set fire to reason. But whatever may be thought of the redundant discourse before us, it had no chance of starting a present conflagration. If, in the long run, the beliefs expressed in proletarian dictatorship are destined to be accepted by the dominant forces of the community, the only meaning of free speech is that they should be given their chance and have their way.
Id. at 510, quoting from United States v. Dennis, 183 F.2d 201, 212.
Out of the "clear and present danger" test came other offspring. Advocacy and teaching of forcible overthrow of government as an abstract principle is immune from prosecution. Yates v. United States, 354 U.S. 298"]354 U.S. 298, 318. But an "active" member, who has a guilty knowledge and intent of the aim to overthrow the Government [p454] by violence, Noto v. United States, 367 U.S. 290, may be prosecuted. 354 U.S. 298, 318. But an "active" member, who has a guilty knowledge and intent of the aim to overthrow the Government [p454] by violence, Noto v. United States, 367 U.S. 290, may be prosecuted. Scales v. United States, 367 U.S. 203"]367 U.S. 203, 228. And the power to investigate, backed by the powerful sanction of contempt, includes the power to determine which of the two categories fits the particular witness. 367 U.S. 203, 228. And the power to investigate, backed by the powerful sanction of contempt, includes the power to determine which of the two categories fits the particular witness. Barenblatt v. United States, 360 U.S. 109, 130. And so the investigator roams at will through all of the beliefs of the witness, ransacking his conscience and his innermost thoughts.
The issuance of certificates indicating the registration and eligibility classification of individuals is a legitimate and substantial administrative aid in the functioning of this system. And legislation to insure the continuing availability of issued certificates serves a legitimate and substantial purpose in the system's administration.
The act of praying often involves body posture and movement, as well as utterances. It is nonetheless protected by the Free Exercise Clause. Picketing, as we have said on numerous occasions, is "free speech plus." See Bakery Drivers Local v. Wohl, 315 U.S. 769, 775 (DOUGLAS, J., concurring); Giboney v. Empire Storage Co., 336 U.S. 490, 501; Hughes v. Superior Court, 339 U.S. 460, 465; Labor Board v. Fruit Packers, 377 U.S. 58, 77 (BLACK, J., concurring), and id. at 93 (HARLAN, J., dissenting); Cox v. Louisiana, 379 U.S. 559"]379 U.S. 559, 578 (opinion of BLACK, J.); 379 U.S. 559, 578 (opinion of BLACK, J.); Food Employees v. Logan Plaza, 391 U.S. 308, 326 (DOUGLAS, J., concurring). That means that it can be regulated when it comes to the "plus" or "action" side of the protest. It can be regulated as to [p456] the number of pickets and the place and hours (see Cox v. Louisiana, supra), because traffic and other community problems would otherwise suffer.
^ . See McKay, The Preference For Freedom, 34 N.Y.U.L.Rev. 1182, 1203-1212 (1959).
^ . See Feiner v. New York, 340 U.S. 315, where a speaker was arrested for arousing an audience when the only "clear and present danger" was that the hecklers in the audience would break up the meeting.
^ . See MR. JUSTICE BLACK, dissenting, in Communications Assn. v. Douds, 339 U.S. 382, 446, 449 et seq.

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