Constitutional Law II

Clear and Present Danger


The clear and present danger test is not followed anymore, but it used to be the test for whether or not speech could constitutionally be prohibited.

The clear and present danger test says that the government may punish speech that is intended to produce, or of which the natural and probable effect is to create, a danger of a likely, imminent, and serious crime.

The Court will defer to Congress what constitutes a clear and present danger.