Courthouse Steps Decision: Counterman v. Colorado

In Counterman v. Colorado, the Court considered a question of free speech and criminal law: whether, in order for a statement to be categorized as a "true threat" and thus not protected under a right to free speech, the speaker must subjectively know or intend the threatening nature of the statement, or whether it is enough that an objective "reasonable person" would regard the statement as a threat of violence. On June 27, 2023 the Court held that “The State must prove in true-threats cases that the defendant had some subjective understanding of his statements’ threatening nature, but the First Amendment requires no more demanding a showing than recklessness.”

We held a Post-Decision Courthouse Steps webinar, where we broke down and analyzed the Court’s decision.

Featuring:

Kent Scheidegger, Legal Director & General Counsel, Criminal Justice Legal Foundation


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As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.