| Elonis v. United States | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued December 1, 2014 Decided June 1, 2015 | |
| Full case name | Anthony Douglas Elonis, Petitioner v. United States |
| Docket no. | 13-983 |
| Citations | 575 U.S. 723 (more) 135 S. Ct. 2001; 192 L. Ed. 2d 1 |
| Opinion announcement | Opinion announcement |
| Holding | |
| A court's instruction that requires only negligence with respect to the communication of a threat is not sufficient to support a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 875(c). Third Circuit reversed and remanded. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Roberts, joined by Scalia, Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan |
| Concur/dissent | Alito |
| Dissent | Thomas |
| Laws applied | |
Elonis v. United States, 575 U.S. 723 (2015), was a United States Supreme Court case concerning whether conviction of threatening another person over interstate lines (under 18 U.S.C. § 875(c)[1]) requires proof of subjective intent to threaten or whether it is enough to show that a "reasonable person" would regard the statement as threatening.[2] In controversy were the purported threats of violent rap lyrics written by Anthony Douglas Elonis and posted to Facebook under a pseudonym.[3] The ACLU filed an amicus brief in support of the petitioner.[2] It was the first time the Court has heard a case considering true threats and the limits of speech on social media.[4]
- ^ .
- ^ a b "Elonis v. United States". SCOTUSblog. Supreme Court of the United States. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
- ^ John, Arit (October 5, 2014). "The 8 Most Important Cases in the New Supreme Court Term". Bloomberg Politics. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
- ^ Emily Bazelon (November 25, 2014). "Do Online Death Threats Count as Free Speech?". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved November 25, 2014.