Jan 19, 2026
the law is the act of predicting
Holmes’s “prediction theory” defines law as the practical prediction of what courts will do, especially from the standpoint of a “bad man” who cares about consequences rather than morals . That formul...
Oliver Wendell Holmes
American poet and physician (1809–1894)
Fact-Checks
2 resultsNov 22, 2025
What Supreme Court cases have shaped the legal meaning of sedition (e.g., Schenck, Debs, Abrams, Yates)?
Early 20th‑century Supreme Court decisions during World War I — notably Schenck, Debs and Abrams — affirmed government power to punish speech that Congress said would obstruct the war effort, introduc...