Gitlow v. New York

Gitlow v. New York, 268 U.S. 652 (1925), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court.

Benjamin Gitlow, a Socialist, was convicted under New York’s criminal anarchy law for publishing a ‘Left Wing Manifesto’ advocating the overthrow of the government. He argued that the law violated the First Amendment as applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.

Significance

The Court upheld Gitlow’s conviction but announced a landmark constitutional principle: the First Amendment’s free speech and press protections apply to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause. This ‘incorporation’ of free speech rights against the states was a watershed moment in constitutional law, though the Court found that Gitlow’s speech was not protected because it advocated violent revolution. The decision opened the door for the gradual incorporation of other Bill of Rights protections against the states.

Category

US Federal Case Law