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Simple English definitions for legal terms

clear and present danger

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A quick definition of clear and present danger:

The clear and present danger test is a rule used to determine if a particular speech is protected by the First Amendment. It originated in a court case called Schenck v. the United States. The test has two conditions: the speech must pose a real threat of causing harm, and the harm must be imminent. The rule has been applied in cases involving criminal prosecutions, picketing, and incitement to commit crimes, among others. However, it does not apply to cases involving antitrust laws, libel, or school property use. The test was further clarified in cases like Brandenburg v. Ohio and Hess v. Indiana.

A more thorough explanation:

The clear and present danger test is a standard used to determine whether a particular speech is protected by the First Amendment or not. It originated in the case of Schenck v. the United States and states that speech may not be restrained or punished unless it creates a clear and present danger of bringing about a substantial evil.

The clear and present danger test has two conditions: the speech must pose a threat of a substantive evil, and the threat must be real and imminent. The court must identify and quantify both the nature of the threatened evil and the imminence of the perceived danger.

The clear and present danger test has been applied in cases involving criminal prosecutions for opposition to war, statutes penalizing the advocacy of the overthrow of the government by force or violence, attacks on courts or judges, picketing, regulation of prison inmates' access to newspapers, periodicals, and so forth, incitement to commit crimes, and breach of the peace or disorderly conduct.

However, the rule has been held not applicable to cases involving antitrust laws, libel cases, statutes regulating the conduct of labor union affairs, statutes governing the use of school property for non-school purposes, and demonstrations in an inappropriate place, such as before a courthouse.

In Brandenburg v. Ohio, the defendant, a leader of a Ku Klux Klan, had arranged for a television station to cover his speech at a Klan rally. Ohio’s court ruled that the statement falls into the scope of clear and present danger.

In Hess v. Indiana, an anti-war demonstrator had been arrested for stating, “We'll take the fucking street later.” A majority of the Court reversed his conviction. The United States Supreme Court ruled that the statement is not a “clear and present danger” because the statement does not impose an imminent danger to society.

These examples illustrate how the clear and present danger test is used to determine whether speech is protected by the First Amendment or not. The Brandenburg case shows that speech that poses a clear and present danger can be restricted, while the Hess case shows that speech that does not pose an imminent danger cannot be restricted.

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11:20
i don’t fw him that heavy tbh
11:21
i get along better with his friends than i do with him
windyMagician
11:21
nah the hiking in Nike blazers deserves jail time
11:21
he was already vomiting and shitting in a hole I think he did his penance
windyMagician
11:26
call that restorative justice
11:35
they put a place in the UK second. I don’t trust their methodology
shaquilleoatmeal
11:35
im laughin cause it definitely isnt but the fact that some people this it is is comical
shaquilleoatmeal
11:35
tink*
shaquilleoatmeal
11:35
think jee
shaquilleoatmeal
11:35
jeez - im over it
11:37
imagine saying you want to go to boston for christmas 💀
shaquilleoatmeal
11:40
imagine you not wanting to go what lmao
13:55
not impressed by the fact that they have a park and some buildings. who doesn't
soap
15:04
Manifesting a GPA boost with the end of this semester
CynicalOops
15:13
Colorado mentioned
CynicalOops
15:18
Wait does boston have one of those long ice rinks
CynicalOops
15:18
Those are fun
15:23
what if I started flexing again
15:24
that might be too much
15:33
can we see ur mod badge?
15:41
just for u sweetie pie
15:43
woah so much swagger with dat 'm;
Dkk
15:47
@shaquilleoatmeal: more like, blow my back out by the bay boston instead of back bay boston.
Dkk
15:48
Indeed, the legendary man himself.
15:49
I would go to blow my back out by the bay boston
15:50
lift with ur back not your legs, its better to have a blown back than two bad legs
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