United States v. O'Brien

United States v. O’Brien (1968) was a Supreme Court case about whether Congress’s law against destroying military draft cards violated the First Amendment’s free speech protections. David O’Brien was convicted for burning his draft card to protest the Vietnam War. The Court ruled that the law was constitutional because it served an important government interest—ensuring the draft’s integrity—and was closely related to that goal. However, the ruling clarified that such laws must be justified by an important reason and not just suppress free speech, establishing a test to balance individual rights against government interests.