Elonis v. United States: Why the Supreme Court Punted on Free Speech

Authors

David Barney

First Page

1

Last Page

14

Document Type

Note

Abstract

In Elonis v. United States, 135 S. Ct. 2001 (2015), the Supreme Court had a chance to interpret the boundaries of a federal statute forbidding threats transmitted in interstate or foreign commerce and to consider the constitutional implications of regulating such threats. In its statutory analysis, the Court hesitated to declare how the law should be applied, and instead, only provided guidance as to how it should not be. It likewise refrained from any further analysis on constitutional grounds entirely. This contest winning student case note explores the opinion in depth and comments on its potential implications.

Recommended Citation

David Barney Elonis v. United States: Why the Supreme Court Punted on Free Speech, 2016 Pepp. L. Rev. 1 (2016)
Available at: https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/plr/vol2016/iss1/1