United States v. O'Brien

United States v. O’Brien, 391 U.S. 367 (1968), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court.

David O’Brien burned his draft card on the steps of the South Boston Courthouse to protest the Vietnam War. He was convicted under a federal law that prohibited the knowing destruction or mutilation of draft cards. O’Brien argued that the law violated his First Amendment right to symbolic speech.

Significance

Chief Justice Warren’s 7-1 opinion upheld the conviction and established the ‘O’Brien test’ for evaluating regulations of expressive conduct. A regulation is constitutional if: (1) it is within the constitutional power of the government; (2) it furthers an important or substantial governmental interest; (3) the interest is unrelated to the suppression of free expression; and (4) the incidental restriction on speech is no greater than necessary. The law here served the important interest of maintaining the selective service system.

Category

US Federal Case Law