Monthly Archives June 2015

ELONIS v. U.S.: FIRST AMENDMENT PROTECTED SPEECH OR CRIMINAL CONDUCT?

The US Supreme Court on June 1, 2015, issued a ruling reversing and remanding the lower court convictions for transmitting threats via Facebook messages. Elonis, an amusement park employee who was going through separation and custody battle with his wife at the time was charged with transmitting threatening messages under 18 U. S. C. §875(c), which makes it a federal crime to transmit in interstate commerce “any communication containing any threat . . . to injure the person of another.” The lower court conviction was based on jury instructions, which did not require proof of intent to issue threats but
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