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NPR headline: The Supreme Court ponders when a threat is really a 'true threat'
Nina Totenberg
The Supreme Court on Wednesday revisits a question the court has never answered: When is a threat a "true threat?" What does the prosecution have to prove? Does it have to show that the defendant intended to frighten his target, or is it enough to show that his words would have that effect on a reasonable person? 1/2
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What the legal questions are
The legal issues in Wednesday's case are bloodless compared to Whalen's story. The First Amendment protects freedom of speech, but there are exceptions - obscenity, fighting words, **shouting "fire" in a crowded theater** and what the court has called "true threats." The question in this case is whether the definition of a "true threat" is in the eye of the ordinary, reasonable beholder or in the eye of the writer of the messages.
Ken White
Packy Anderson