The Supreme Court on December 19, 2025, delivered the Trump administration its first significant defeat on the emergency “shadow docket” since April 2025, refusing to block a lower court ruling that allows immigration judges to proceed with their First Amendment lawsuit challenging a …
Supreme Court of the United StatesDonald TrumpNational Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ)Department of Justice4th Circuit Court of Appeals+3 moresupreme courtimmigration-judgesfirst amendmentfree speechshadow docket+5 more
The Supreme Court upheld the Sedition Act convictions of five Russian Jewish immigrants who had distributed leaflets opposing U.S. military intervention against the Bolshevik Revolution. In a 7-2 decision, the majority found that criticizing American military policy and calling for a general strike …
Supreme Court of the United StatesJustice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.Justice Louis BrandeisJacob Abramsfree-speechjudicial-captureprogressive-erasedition-actfirst-amendment
The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the Espionage Act conviction of Socialist Party Secretary Charles Schenck for distributing leaflets urging draft resistance. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. authored the opinion, creating the “clear and present danger” test for restricting speech …
Supreme Court of the United StatesJustice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.Charles SchenckSocialist Party of Americajudicial-capturefree-speechworld-war-istate-repressionprogressive-era
Federal Judge David C. Westenhaver sentenced five-time Socialist Party presidential candidate Eugene V. Debs to ten years in federal prison for violating the Espionage Act by delivering an antiwar speech in Canton, Ohio on June 16, 1918. Before sentencing, Debs delivered his famous statement: …
Eugene V. DebsSocialist Party of AmericaPresident Woodrow WilsonJudge David C. Westenhaverfree-speechstate-repressionlabor-movementprogressive-eraespionage-act
President Woodrow Wilson signed the Espionage Act into law, prohibiting interference with military operations or recruitment, preventing insubordination in the military, and preventing support of U.S. enemies during wartime. The Wilson administration, knowing many Americans were conflicted about …
President Woodrow WilsonIndustrial Workers of the World (IWW)Eugene V. DebsVictor L. BergerEmma Goldman+1 morelabor-suppressionfree-speechworld-war-iiwwstate-repression