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Brandenburg v. Ohio

Brief Fact Summary. The Ohio Criminal Syndicalism statute was found unconstitutional as a violation of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution (Constitution) by the Supreme Court of the United States (Supreme Court) thereby reversing the Appellant’s conviction based on a violation of the statute.

Synopsis of Rule of Law. The constitutional guarantees of free speech and free press do not permit a state to forbid or proscribe advocacy of the use of force or of law violation except where such advocacy is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to produce such action.

Facts. The Appellant, Brandenburg (Appellant), a leader of the Ku Klux Klan group, was convicted under the Ohio Criminal Syndicalism statute for “advocating the duty, necessity, or propriety of crime