Gitlow v. New York

Benjamin Gitlow, an communist activist, was convicted of violating the 1902 New York Criminal Anarchy Act and was charged with teaching communist ideals of overthrowing the current United States government. He taught people that it was necessary to overthrow government by advocating mass revolts and political strikes. Gitlow took his conviction to the Supreme Court where the Court decided, with a 7-2 vote, in favor of the state of New York, upholding Gitlow's conviction. the majority opinion of the Court claimed that, even though freedom of speech and freedom of the press are contained within the Constitution, "a state may punish utterances endangering the foundations of organizing government and threatening its overthrow by unlawful means." In essence, the decision to give or take away right to subversive speech is delivered to the states as an extension of the Constitution.

I agree with the Court's ruling on this case, and I have found the ruling of the Court in monumental cases is very consistent and intelligent. I believe that the Constitution guarantees the rights to freedom of the press and freedom of speech, and that controlling what people are saying about the government is against the Constitution, because speech cannot be violent. The ancient proverb "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me" holds true in my opinion, and words are rarely as effective as actions.

The site CaseBriefs again provides excellent synopses of the rules and precedents established by Supreme Court cases and a great review for major Supreme Court cases. CaseBriefs explains that, according to the ruling of Gitlow v. New York,

State statutes are unconstitutional if they are arbitrary and unreasonable attempts to exercise authority vested in the state to protect public interests.

Criminal anarchy, as defined by the 1902 New York Criminal Anarchy Act, is "the doctrine that organized government should be overthrown by force or violence, or by assassination of the executive head or any of the executive officials of government, or by any unlawful means."