376 U.S. 254 (1964) Cited 6,908 times 36 Legal Analyses
Holding that a public official or public figure can recover damages for defamation on a matter of public concern only if he proves that the speaker acted with actual malice
466 U.S. 485 (1984) Cited 1,617 times 5 Legal Analyses
Holding that the clear-error standard "does not inhibit an appellate court's power to correct errors of law, including ... a finding of fact that is predicated on a misunderstanding of the governing rule of law"
395 U.S. 444 (1969) Cited 999 times 8 Legal Analyses
Holding that mere advocacy of violence is protected by the First Amendment, unless intended to incite it or produce imminent lawlessness, and rejecting the contrary rule in Whitney v. California , 274 U.S. 357, 47 S.Ct. 641, 71 L.Ed. 1095, as having been "thoroughly discredited by later decisions"
337 U.S. 1 (1949) Cited 870 times 6 Legal Analyses
Holding that protected speech may not be abridged or censored short of “a clear and present danger of a serious substantive evil that rises far above public inconvenience, annoyance, or unrest”