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Fundamental Freedoms</a></li> <li class="breadcrumb-item"><a href="/constitution-conan/amendment-1/free-speech-clause"> Free Speech Clause</a></li> <li class="breadcrumb-item"><a href="/constitution-conan/amendment-1/categorical-approach"> Categorical Approach</a></li> <li class="breadcrumb-item breadcrumb-last"> True Threats</li> </ol> </nav> </div> </div> </div> <main id="main" class="container-fluid"> <div id="content" class="col-sm-8"> <div class="pagewrapper"> <div class="container-fluid"> <div class="row"> <div title="Definitions Frame"></div> <div id="prevnext"> <a href="/constitution-conan/amendment-1/fighting-words" title="">prev</a> | <a href="/constitution-conan/amendment-1/defamation" title="">next</a> </div> <div class="chunkcontent" divtype="anncon2"> <div class="topic_block" level="3"> <div class="header">Amdt1.7.5.6 True Threats</div> <p class="const-intro"> <a aria-label="US Constitution first Amendment " href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/first_amendment">First Amendment</a>:</p> <p class="const-context">Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.</p> <p class="indent-paragraph">The Supreme Court has cited three “reasons why threats of violence are outside the <a aria-label="US Constitution first Amendment " href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/first_amendment">First Amendment</a>” — “protecting individuals from the fear of violence, from the disruption that fear engenders, and from the possibility that the threatened violence will occur.” <a class="footnote" data-toggle="tooltip" href="#fn1amd1" id="fn1" title='<span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029602" /> <span>R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul, <a href="/supremecourt/text/505/377">505 U.S. 377</a>, 388 (1992)</span>. '>1</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="essay-tooltip-text footnotes aside" hidden=""><span class="text-accent h4">Footnote<br/></span><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029602"></span><span class="cite cite-type-case">R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul, 505 U.S. 377, 388 (1992)</span>.</span> In <span class="cite cite-type-case format-in-text"><span class="title">Watts v. United States</span></span>, however, the Court held that only “true” threats are outside ordinary <a aria-label="US Constitution first Amendment " href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/first_amendment">First Amendment</a> protections.<a class="footnote" data-toggle="tooltip" href="#fn2amd1" id="fn2" title='<span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029603" /> <span> <a href="/supremecourt/text/394/705">394 U.S. 705</a>, 708 (1969)</span> (per curiam). '>2</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="essay-tooltip-text footnotes aside" hidden=""><span class="text-accent h4">Footnote<br/></span><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029603"></span><span class="cite cite-type-case">394 U.S. 705, 708 (1969)</span> (per curiam).</span> The defendant in <span class="cite cite-type-case format-in-text"><span class="title">Watts</span></span> expressed his opposition to the military draft at a public rally, saying, “If they ever make me carry a rifle, the first man I want to get in my sights is L.B.J.” <a class="footnote" data-toggle="tooltip" href="#fn3amd1" id="fn3" title='<span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029604" /> <span class="cite cite-type-case" full="Watts v. United States, 394 U.S. 705 (1969)"><span> 394 U.S. at 706</span></span>. '>3</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="essay-tooltip-text footnotes aside" hidden=""><span class="text-accent h4">Footnote<br/></span><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029604"></span><span class="cite cite-type-case" full="Watts v. United States, 394 U.S. 705 (1969)"><span class="vrpd"> 394 U.S. at 706</span></span>.</span> He was convicted of violating a federal statute that prohibited “any threat to take the life of or to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States.” The Supreme Court reversed. Interpreting the statute “with the commands of the <a aria-label="US Constitution first Amendment " href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/first_amendment">First Amendment</a> clearly in mind,” <a class="footnote" data-toggle="tooltip" href="#fn4amd1" id="fn4" title='<span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029605" /> <span class="cite cite-type-case" full="Watts v. United States, 394 U.S. 705 (1969)"><span> 394 U.S. at 707</span></span>. '>4</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="essay-tooltip-text footnotes aside" hidden=""><span class="text-accent h4">Footnote<br/></span><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029605"></span><span class="cite cite-type-case" full="Watts v. United States, 394 U.S. 705 (1969)"><span class="vrpd"> 394 U.S. at 707</span></span>.</span> the Court found that the defendant had not made a “true ‘threat,’” but had indulged in mere “political hyperbole.” <a class="footnote" data-toggle="tooltip" href="#fn5amd1" id="fn5" title='<span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029606" /> <span class="cite cite-type-case" full="Watts v. United States, 394 U.S. 705 (1969)"><span> 394 U.S. at 708</span></span>. '>5</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="essay-tooltip-text footnotes aside" hidden=""><span class="text-accent h4">Footnote<br/></span><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029606"></span><span class="cite cite-type-case" full="Watts v. United States, 394 U.S. 705 (1969)"><span class="vrpd"> 394 U.S. at 708</span></span>.</span></p> <p class="indent-paragraph">In <span class="cite cite-type-case format-in-text"><span class="title">NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co.</span></span>, White merchants in Claiborne County, Mississippi, sued the NAACP to recover losses caused by a boycott by Black citizens of their businesses, and to enjoin future boycott activity.<a class="footnote" data-toggle="tooltip" href="#fn6amd1" id="fn6" title='<span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029607" /> <span> <a href="/supremecourt/text/458/886" aria-label="458 U.S. 886">458 U.S. 886 (1982)</a></span>. Claiborne is also discussed below under “Public Issue Picketing and Parading.” '>6</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="essay-tooltip-text footnotes aside" hidden=""><span class="text-accent h4">Footnote<br/></span><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029607"></span><span class="cite cite-type-case">458 U.S. 886 (1982)</span>. Claiborne is also discussed below under “Public Issue Picketing and Parading.” </span> During the course of the boycott, NAACP Field Secretary Charles Evers told an audience of “black people that any ‘uncle toms’ who broke the boycott would ‘have their necks broken’ by their own people.” <a class="footnote" data-toggle="tooltip" href="#fn7amd1" id="fn7" title='<span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029608" /> <span class="cite cite-type-case" full="National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Claiborne Hardware Co., 458 U.S. 886 (1982)"><span> 458 U.S. at 900, n.29</span></span>. <em>See</em> <span class="cite cite-type-case" full="National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Claiborne Hardware Co., 458 U.S. 886 (1982)"><em>id.</em> at 902</span> for a similar remark by Evers. '>7</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="essay-tooltip-text footnotes aside" hidden=""><span class="text-accent h4">Footnote<br/></span><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029608"></span><span class="cite cite-type-case" full="National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Claiborne Hardware Co., 458 U.S. 886 (1982)"><span class="vrpd"> 458 U.S. at 900, n.29</span></span>. <em>See</em> <span class="cite cite-type-case" full="National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Claiborne Hardware Co., 458 U.S. 886 (1982)"><em>id.</em> at 902</span> for a similar remark by Evers.</span> The Court acknowledged that this language “might have been understood as inviting an unlawful form of discipline or, at least, as intending to create a fear of violence.” <a class="footnote" data-toggle="tooltip" href="#fn8amd1" id="fn8" title='<span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029609" /> <span class="cite cite-type-case" full="National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Claiborne Hardware Co., 458 U.S. 886 (1982)"><span> 458 U.S. at 927</span></span>. '>8</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="essay-tooltip-text footnotes aside" hidden=""><span class="text-accent h4">Footnote<br/></span><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029609"></span><span class="cite cite-type-case" full="National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Claiborne Hardware Co., 458 U.S. 886 (1982)"><span class="vrpd"> 458 U.S. at 927</span></span>.</span> Yet, no violence had followed directly from Evers’ speeches, and the Court found that Evers’ “emotionally charged rhetoric did not transcend the bounds of protected speech set forth in <span class="cite cite-type-case format-in-text"><span class="title">Brandenburg</span></span>. An advocate must be free to stimulate his audience with spontaneous and emotional appeals for unity and action in a common cause. When such appeals do not incite lawless action, they must be regarded as protected speech.” <a class="footnote" data-toggle="tooltip" href="#fn9amd1" id="fn9" title='<span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029610" /> <span class="cite cite-type-case" full="National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Claiborne Hardware Co., 458 U.S. 886 (1982)"><span> 458 U.S. at 928</span></span>. '>9</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="essay-tooltip-text footnotes aside" hidden=""><span class="text-accent h4">Footnote<br/></span><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029610"></span><span class="cite cite-type-case" full="National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Claiborne Hardware Co., 458 U.S. 886 (1982)"><span class="vrpd"> 458 U.S. at 928</span></span>.</span> Although the Court held that, under <span class="cite cite-type-case format-in-text"><span class="title">Brandenburg</span></span>, Evers’ speech did not constitute unprotected incitement of lawless action,<a class="footnote" data-toggle="tooltip" href="#fn10amd1" id="fn10" title='<span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029611" /> <span>Brandenburg v. Ohio, <a href="/supremecourt/text/395/444" aria-label="395 U.S. 444">395 U.S. 444 (1969)</a></span>. <em>Brandenburg</em> is discussed above under “Is There a Present Test?” '>10</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="essay-tooltip-text footnotes aside" hidden=""><span class="text-accent h4">Footnote<br/></span><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029611"></span><span class="cite cite-type-case">Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444 (1969)</span>. <em>Brandenburg</em> is discussed above under “Is There a Present Test?” </span> the Court also cited <span class="cite cite-type-case format-in-text"><span class="title">Watts</span></span>, thereby implying that Evers’ speech also did not constitute a “true threat.” <a class="footnote" data-toggle="tooltip" href="#fn11amd1" id="fn11" title='<span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029612" /> <span class="cite cite-type-case format-short" full="National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Claiborne Hardware Co., 458 U.S. 886 (1982)"><span>Claiborne</span>, <span> 458 U.S. at 928 n.71</span></span>. '>11</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="essay-tooltip-text footnotes aside" hidden=""><span class="text-accent h4">Footnote<br/></span><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029612"></span><span class="cite cite-type-case format-short" full="National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Claiborne Hardware Co., 458 U.S. 886 (1982)"><span class="title">Claiborne</span>, <span class="vrpd"> 458 U.S. at 928 n.71</span></span>.</span></p> <p class="indent-paragraph">In a 2023 decision, <span class="cite cite-type-case format-in-text"><span class="title">Counterman v. Colorado</span></span>, the Supreme Court held that, to convict a person of making true threats, a state must show that the speaker had a subjective understanding as to whether the person to whom his words were directed would perceive them as threatening.<a class="footnote" data-toggle="tooltip" href="#fn12amd1" id="fn12" title='<span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00000279" /> <span class="cite cite-type-case"><span>Counterman v. Colorado,</span> <span> No. <a href="/supremecourt/text/22-138" aria-label="supreme court - No. 22-138">22-138</a> (U.S. June 27, 2023)</span></span>. '>12</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="essay-tooltip-text footnotes aside" hidden=""><span class="text-accent h4">Footnote<br/></span><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00000279"></span><span class="cite cite-type-case"><span class="title">Counterman v. Colorado,</span> <span class="vrpd"> No. <a aria-label="supreme court - No. 22-138" href="/supremecourt/text/22-138">22-138</a> (U.S. June 27, 2023)</span></span>.</span> The Court explained the <em>mens rea</em> or mental state of recklessness would suffice for this showing, adding that, “A person acts recklessly in the most common formulations, when he ‘consciously disregard[s] a substantial [and unjustifiable] risk that the conduct will cause harm to another.’” <a class="footnote" data-toggle="tooltip" href="#fn13amd1" id="fn13" title='<span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00000280" /> <span class="cite cite-type-case" full="Counterman v. Colorado, No. 22-138 (U.S. June 27, 2023)"><em>Id.</em> slip op. at <span>11</span></span> (quoting <span class="cite cite-type-case"><span>Voisine v. United States,</span> <span> <a href="/supremecourt/text/579/686">579 U.S. 686</a>, 691 (2016)</span></span>). '>13</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="essay-tooltip-text footnotes aside" hidden=""><span class="text-accent h4">Footnote<br/></span><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00000280"></span><span class="cite cite-type-case" full="Counterman v. Colorado, No. 22-138 (U.S. June 27, 2023)"><em>Id.</em> slip op. at <span class="vrpd">11</span></span> (quoting <span class="cite cite-type-case"><span class="title">Voisine v. United States,</span> <span class="vrpd"> <a aria-label="579 U.S. 686" href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/579/686">579 U.S. 686</a>, 691 (2016)</span></span>).</span></p> <p class="indent-paragraph">In 2003’s <span class="cite cite-type-case format-in-text"><span class="title">Virginia v. Black</span></span>, the Supreme Court considered a <a aria-label="US Constitution first Amendment " href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/first_amendment">First Amendment</a> challenge to a state law that banned cross burning carried out with the intent to intimidate.<a class="footnote" data-toggle="tooltip" href="#fn14amd1" id="fn14" title='<span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029613" /> <span>Virginia v. Black, <a href="/supremecourt/text/538/343">538 U.S. 343</a>, 347 (2003)</span>. '>14</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="essay-tooltip-text footnotes aside" hidden=""><span class="text-accent h4">Footnote<br/></span><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029613"></span><span class="cite cite-type-case">Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343, 347 (2003)</span>.</span> The Court held that, at least in theory, states could prohibit such cross burnings as a “true threat.” <a class="footnote" data-toggle="tooltip" href="#fn15amd1" id="fn15" title='<span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029614" /> <span class="cite cite-type-case" full="Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343 (2003)"><em>Id.</em> at 360, 363</span>. '>15</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="essay-tooltip-text footnotes aside" hidden=""><span class="text-accent h4">Footnote<br/></span><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029614"></span><span class="cite cite-type-case" full="Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343 (2003)"><em>Id.</em> at 360, 363</span>.</span> Specifically, intimidation can be prohibited as “a type of true threat, where a speaker directs a threat to a person or group of persons with the intent of placing the victim in fear of bodily harm or death.” <a class="footnote" data-toggle="tooltip" href="#fn16amd1" id="fn16" title='<span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029615" /> <span class="cite cite-type-case" full="Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343 (2003)"><em>Id.</em> at 360</span>. '>16</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="essay-tooltip-text footnotes aside" hidden=""><span class="text-accent h4">Footnote<br/></span><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029615"></span><span class="cite cite-type-case" full="Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343 (2003)"><em>Id.</em> at 360</span>.</span> Cross burning could fall within this category of “intimidating speech,” given that the “history of cross burning in this country” demonstrated they were often “intended to create a pervasive fear in victims that they are a target of violence.” <a class="footnote" data-toggle="tooltip" href="#fn17amd1" id="fn17" title='<span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029616" /> <span class="cite cite-type-case" full="Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343 (2003)"><em>Id.</em></span> '>17</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="essay-tooltip-text footnotes aside" hidden=""><span class="text-accent h4">Footnote<br/></span><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029616"></span><span class="cite cite-type-case" full="Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343 (2003)"><em>Id.</em></span></span> However, the Court concluded that the specific state law before it was unconstitutional insofar as it allowed the mere fact of cross burning to provide prima facie evidence of the intent to intimidate, creating a chill on constitutionally protected speech.<a class="footnote" data-toggle="tooltip" href="#fn18amd1" id="fn18" title='<span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029617" /> <span class="cite cite-type-case" full="Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343 (2003)"><em>Id.</em> at 364–65</span> (plurality opinion); <span class="cite cite-type-case" full="Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343 (2003)"><em>id.</em> at 386</span> (Souter, J., concurring in the judgment in part and dissenting in part) (concluding that the law was an impermissibly content-based statute, in part because “the prima facie evidence provision skews prosecutions . . . toward suppressing ideas.” ). A cross burning done as “a statement of ideology, a symbol of group solidarity,” or “in movies such as Mississippi Burning,” however, would be protected speech. <span class="cite cite-type-case" full="Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343 (2003)"><em>Id.</em> at 365–366</span> (plurality opinion). '>18</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="essay-tooltip-text footnotes aside" hidden=""><span class="text-accent h4">Footnote<br/></span><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029617"></span><span class="cite cite-type-case" full="Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343 (2003)"><em>Id.</em> at 364–65</span> (plurality opinion); <span class="cite cite-type-case" full="Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343 (2003)"><em>id.</em> at 386</span> (Souter, J., concurring in the judgment in part and dissenting in part) (concluding that the law was an impermissibly content-based statute, in part because “the prima facie evidence provision skews prosecutions . . . toward suppressing ideas.” ). A cross burning done as “a statement of ideology, a symbol of group solidarity,” or “in movies such as Mississippi Burning,” however, would be protected speech. <span class="cite cite-type-case" full="Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343 (2003)"><em>Id.</em> at 365–366</span> (plurality opinion).</span></p> <dl class="footnotes"> Footnotes <dt id="fn1amd1">1 </dt> <dd><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029602c0c5befa-484a-11ef-b8c7-e9213680cfdc"></span> <span>R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul, <a aria-label="505 U.S. 377" href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/505/377">505 U.S. 377</a>, 388 (1992)</span>. <a aria-label="Back to text at footnote reference 1" href="#fn1"><img alt="back" class="back-to-text" src="/images/back_to_text.png"/></a></dd> <dt id="fn2amd1">2 </dt> <dd><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029603c0c5befb-484a-11ef-b8c7-e9213680cfdc"></span> <span> <a aria-label="394 U.S. 705" href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/394/705">394 U.S. 705</a>, 708 (1969)</span> (per curiam). <a aria-label="Back to text at footnote reference 2" href="#fn2"><img alt="back" class="back-to-text" src="/images/back_to_text.png"/></a></dd> <dt id="fn3amd1">3 </dt> <dd><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029604c0c5befc-484a-11ef-b8c7-e9213680cfdc"></span> <span class="cite cite-type-case" full="Watts v. United States, 394 U.S. 705 (1969)"><span> 394 U.S. at 706</span></span>. <a aria-label="Back to text at footnote reference 3" href="#fn3"><img alt="back" class="back-to-text" src="/images/back_to_text.png"/></a></dd> <dt id="fn4amd1">4 </dt> <dd><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029605c0c5befd-484a-11ef-b8c7-e9213680cfdc"></span> <span class="cite cite-type-case" full="Watts v. United States, 394 U.S. 705 (1969)"><span> 394 U.S. at 707</span></span>. <a aria-label="Back to text at footnote reference 4" href="#fn4"><img alt="back" class="back-to-text" src="/images/back_to_text.png"/></a></dd> <dt id="fn5amd1">5 </dt> <dd><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029606c0c5befe-484a-11ef-b8c7-e9213680cfdc"></span> <span class="cite cite-type-case" full="Watts v. United States, 394 U.S. 705 (1969)"><span> 394 U.S. at 708</span></span>. <a aria-label="Back to text at footnote reference 5" href="#fn5"><img alt="back" class="back-to-text" src="/images/back_to_text.png"/></a></dd> <dt id="fn6amd1">6 </dt> <dd><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029607c0c5beff-484a-11ef-b8c7-e9213680cfdc"></span> <span> <a aria-label="458 U.S. 886" href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/458/886">458 U.S. 886 (1982)</a></span>. Claiborne is also discussed below under “Public Issue Picketing and Parading.” <a aria-label="Back to text at footnote reference 6" href="#fn6"><img alt="back" class="back-to-text" src="/images/back_to_text.png"/></a></dd> <dt id="fn7amd1">7 </dt> <dd><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029608c0c5bf00-484a-11ef-b8c7-e9213680cfdc"></span> <span class="cite cite-type-case" full="National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Claiborne Hardware Co., 458 U.S. 886 (1982)"><span> 458 U.S. at 900, n.29</span></span>. <em>See</em> <span class="cite cite-type-case" full="National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Claiborne Hardware Co., 458 U.S. 886 (1982)"><em>id.</em> at 902</span> for a similar remark by Evers. <a aria-label="Back to text at footnote reference 7" href="#fn7"><img alt="back" class="back-to-text" src="/images/back_to_text.png"/></a></dd> <dt id="fn8amd1">8 </dt> <dd><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029609c0c5bf01-484a-11ef-b8c7-e9213680cfdc"></span> <span class="cite cite-type-case" full="National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Claiborne Hardware Co., 458 U.S. 886 (1982)"><span> 458 U.S. at 927</span></span>. <a aria-label="Back to text at footnote reference 8" href="#fn8"><img alt="back" class="back-to-text" src="/images/back_to_text.png"/></a></dd> <dt id="fn9amd1">9 </dt> <dd><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029610c0c5bf02-484a-11ef-b8c7-e9213680cfdc"></span> <span class="cite cite-type-case" full="National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Claiborne Hardware Co., 458 U.S. 886 (1982)"><span> 458 U.S. at 928</span></span>. <a aria-label="Back to text at footnote reference 9" href="#fn9"><img alt="back" class="back-to-text" src="/images/back_to_text.png"/></a></dd> <dt id="fn10amd1">10 </dt> <dd><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029611c0c5bf03-484a-11ef-b8c7-e9213680cfdc"></span> <span>Brandenburg v. Ohio, <a aria-label="395 U.S. 444" href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/395/444">395 U.S. 444 (1969)</a></span>. <em>Brandenburg</em> is discussed above under “Is There a Present Test?” <a aria-label="Back to text at footnote reference 10" href="#fn10"><img alt="back" class="back-to-text" src="/images/back_to_text.png"/></a></dd> <dt id="fn11amd1">11 </dt> <dd><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029612c0c5bf04-484a-11ef-b8c7-e9213680cfdc"></span> <span class="cite cite-type-case format-short" full="National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Claiborne Hardware Co., 458 U.S. 886 (1982)"><span>Claiborne</span>, <span> 458 U.S. at 928 n.71</span></span>. <a aria-label="Back to text at footnote reference 11" href="#fn11"><img alt="back" class="back-to-text" src="/images/back_to_text.png"/></a></dd> <dt id="fn12amd1">12 </dt> <dd><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00000279c0c5bf05-484a-11ef-b8c7-e9213680cfdc"></span> <span class="cite cite-type-case"><span>Counterman v. Colorado,</span> <span> No. <a aria-label="supreme court - No. 22-138" href="/supremecourt/text/22-138">22-138</a> (U.S. June 27, 2023)</span></span>. <a aria-label="Back to text at footnote reference 12" href="#fn12"><img alt="back" class="back-to-text" src="/images/back_to_text.png"/></a></dd> <dt id="fn13amd1">13 </dt> <dd><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00000280c0c5bf06-484a-11ef-b8c7-e9213680cfdc"></span> <span class="cite cite-type-case" full="Counterman v. Colorado, No. 22-138 (U.S. June 27, 2023)"><em>Id.</em> slip op. at <span>11</span></span> (quoting <span class="cite cite-type-case"><span>Voisine v. United States,</span> <span> <a aria-label="579 U.S. 686" href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/579/686">579 U.S. 686</a>, 691 (2016)</span></span>). <a aria-label="Back to text at footnote reference 13" href="#fn13"><img alt="back" class="back-to-text" src="/images/back_to_text.png"/></a></dd> <dt id="fn14amd1">14 </dt> <dd><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029613c0c5bf07-484a-11ef-b8c7-e9213680cfdc"></span> <span>Virginia v. Black, <a aria-label="538 U.S. 343" href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/538/343">538 U.S. 343</a>, 347 (2003)</span>. <a aria-label="Back to text at footnote reference 14" href="#fn14"><img alt="back" class="back-to-text" src="/images/back_to_text.png"/></a></dd> <dt id="fn15amd1">15 </dt> <dd><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029614c0c5bf08-484a-11ef-b8c7-e9213680cfdc"></span> <span class="cite cite-type-case" full="Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343 (2003)"><em>Id.</em> at 360, 363</span>. <a aria-label="Back to text at footnote reference 15" href="#fn15"><img alt="back" class="back-to-text" src="/images/back_to_text.png"/></a></dd> <dt id="fn16amd1">16 </dt> <dd><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029615c0c5bf09-484a-11ef-b8c7-e9213680cfdc"></span> <span class="cite cite-type-case" full="Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343 (2003)"><em>Id.</em> at 360</span>. <a aria-label="Back to text at footnote reference 16" href="#fn16"><img alt="back" class="back-to-text" src="/images/back_to_text.png"/></a></dd> <dt id="fn17amd1">17 </dt> <dd><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029616c0c5bf0a-484a-11ef-b8c7-e9213680cfdc"></span> <span class="cite cite-type-case" full="Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343 (2003)"><em>Id.</em></span> <a aria-label="Back to text at footnote reference 17" href="#fn17"><img alt="back" class="back-to-text" src="/images/back_to_text.png"/></a></dd> <dt id="fn18amd1">18 </dt> <dd><span class="fn_ref" id="_ALDF_00029617c0c5bf0b-484a-11ef-b8c7-e9213680cfdc"></span> <span class="cite cite-type-case" full="Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343 (2003)"><em>Id.</em> at 364–65</span> (plurality opinion); <span class="cite cite-type-case" full="Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343 (2003)"><em>id.</em> at 386</span> (Souter, J., concurring in the judgment in part and dissenting in part) (concluding that the law was an impermissibly content-based statute, in part because “the prima facie evidence provision skews prosecutions . . . toward suppressing ideas.” ). A cross burning done as “a statement of ideology, a symbol of group solidarity,” or “in movies such as Mississippi Burning,” however, would be protected speech. <span class="cite cite-type-case" full="Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343 (2003)"><em>Id.</em> at 365–366</span> (plurality opinion). <a aria-label="Back to text at footnote reference 18" href="#fn18"><img alt="back" class="back-to-text" src="/images/back_to_text.png"/></a></dd> </dl> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="page-bottom" aria-hidden="true"> <div class="region region-bottom"> <div id="block-liidfp-2" class="block block-liidfp first last odd"> <div class="gfs"> <div id="div-gpt-ad-bottom" data-google-query-id="CNH77Z7C7d8CFURLAQodp9oMpg"> <script type="text/javascript"> googletag.cmd.push(function () { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-bottom'); }); </script> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <aside id="supersizeme" class="col-sm-4" aria-label="Sponsor Listings and Toolbox panel"> <div class="block" id="toolbox"> <h2 class="title toolbox"><span class="glyphicon glyphicon-briefcase"></span> U.S. Constitution Annotated Toolbox </h2> <ul> <li> <a href="/anncon/">Explanation of the Constitution</a> - from the Congressional Research Service </li> </ul> <div class="socSep"> <hr /> </div> <div class="addthis_sharing_toolbox"></div> <div class="socSep"> <hr /> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> var addthis_config = { data_track_addressbar: false, data_track_clickback: true, publid: 'liiadverts', ui_tabindex: 0, ui_508_compliant: true }; var addthis_share = { url_transforms: { shorten: { twitter: 'bitly' } }, shorteners: { bitly: { login: 'liicornell', apiKey: 'R_75b99d95e1c3033c4dbea23ce04bf5d3' } }, passthrough: { twitter: { via: 'LIICornell' } } }; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://s7.addthis.com/js/300/addthis_widget.js#pubid=liiadverts" async="async"></script> </div> <div class="block" aria-hidden="true"> <div class="gfs"> <div id='div-gpt-ad-top'> <script type='text/javascript'> googletag.cmd.push(function () { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-top'); }); </script> </div> </div> </div> <div class="block" aria-hidden="true"> <div class="gfs"> <div id='div-gpt-ad-middle'> <script type='text/javascript'> googletag.cmd.push(function () { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-middle'); }); </script> </div> </div> </div> <div id="block-lii-justia-find-lawyers-sidebar" class="block block-lii last even"> <div id="block-lii-justia-lawyers" class="block block-lii last even"> <div class="sidebar"> <div class="results-sponsored"> <div data-directive="j-find-a-lawyer" data-crosslink="seemorelawyers" data-domain="lawyers.law.cornell.edu"> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </aside> </main> <footer id="liifooter" class="container-fluid"> <ul id="liifooternav" class="nav navbar-nav"> <li class="first"> <a href="/lii/about/accessibility" class="nav">Accessibility</a> </li> <li class="first"> <a href="/lii/about/about_lii" class="nav">About LII</a> </li> <li> <a href="/lii/about/contact_us" class="nav">Contact us</a> </li> <li> <a href="/lii/help_out/sponsor">Advertise here</a> </li> <li> <a href="/lii/help" class="nav">Help</a> </li> <li> <a href="/lii/terms/documentation" class="nav">Terms of use</a> </li> <li class="last"> <a href="/lii/terms/privacy_policy" class="nav">Privacy</a> </li> </ul> <ul class="nav navbar-nav navbar-right"> <li> <a href="/" title="LII home page"> <img width="62" height="43" src="https://www.law.cornell.edu/sites/all/themes/liizenboot/images/LII_logo_footer.gif" alt="LII logo"> </a> </li> </ul> </footer> <script> jQuery(document).ready(function () { jQuery("#liisearchlink").click(function () { jQuery("#liisearch").toggle('slide'); jQuery("#liinavbarstuff").toggleClass('searchboxslid'); }); }); jQuery(document).ready(function () { jQuery('[data-toggle="tooltip"]').each(function () { var $elem = jQuery(this); $elem.tooltip({ html: true, container: $elem, delay: { hide: 400 } }); }); }); </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/staticsite_scripts/htmldiff.js"> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/staticsite_scripts/lii_scriptinator.min.js"> </script> <script> window.addEventListener("load", function () { window.cookieconsent.initialise( { "palette": { "popup": { "background": "#000" }, "button": { "background": "#f1d600" } } }) }); </script> </body>