Brandenburg v. Ohio

Brandenburg (defendant) was a leader of the Ku Klux Klan in Ohio (plaintiff).

In front of a reporter in the late 1960s, Brandenburg publicly made hateful statements against Jews and black people.

Government lawyers of the state of Ohio used the Ohio Criminal Syndicalism Act (OCSA) to prosecute and convict Brandenburg.

The appellate and Supreme Courts of Ohio affirm Brandeburg's conviction.

Is incitement to violence protected by the First Amendment?

Ohio's criminal statute violated the First Amendment...because it broadly prohibited the mere advocacy of violence rather than the constitutionally unprotected incitement to imminent lawless action.

The Brandenburg test overrides the Bad Tendency test.

• Constitutional_Liberties#Brandenburg_v._Ohio
• Constitutional_Law_Maggs/4th_ed._Outline_II#Special_Categories_of_Protected_Speech
• First_Amendment_Sullivan/Outline#Incitement_to_Violence.2FUnlawful_Conduct