Shouting fire in a crowded theater

rdf:langString Shouting fire in a crowded theater

rdf:langString "Shouting fire in a crowded theater" is a popular analogy for speech or actions made for the principal purpose of creating panic. The phrase is a paraphrasing of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.'s opinion in the United States Supreme Court case Schenck v. United States in 1919, which held that the defendant's speech in opposition to the draft during World War I was not protected free speech under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. The case was later partially overturned by Brandenburg v. Ohio in 1969, which limited the scope of banned speech to that which would be directed to and likely to incite imminent lawless action (e.g. a riot). The paraphrasing differs from Holmes's original wording in that it typically does not include the word falsely, while also adding the word "crowded" to describe the theatre. It is legal in the United States to falsely shout fire in a theater under particular circumstances. The act of shouting fire is not a crime in itself. However, if a bystander calls for emergency services, or if someone is hurt, or if a court can argue that there was the intent to start a panic, then the act of falsely shouting fire is indeed a crime. For example, state laws such as Colorado Revised Statute § 18-8-111 classify a "false alarm of fire" as a felony if the act results in the harm of another person. In the same statute it is a misdemeanor if a person falsely shouts fire and "...knowingly causes the transmission of a report to law enforcement..." In the State of Georgia, under O.C.G.A. §16-10-27 it is a crime to falsely report a fire to emergency services if there are no reasonable grounds to believe that such a fire exists. Depending on the circumstances, various crimes may be committed by shouting fire in a theater as defined by state statutes. Shouting "fire" is only partially protected speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution as affirmed in the Brandenburg v. Ohio Supreme Court decision of 1969.