What US Supreme Court case allowed the government to restrict the individuals' rights during a time of national crisis?

Answer 1

You may be referring to Schenck v. United States, (1919), which upheld the constitutionality of the Espionage Act of 1917, restricting the public's First Amendment right to free speech during times of war. In Schenck, the specific form of speech involved was a pamphlet discouraging conscripted (drafted) men from serving in the Military during World War I. The Supreme Court held that Schenck's literature interfered with US military recruitment, a matter of national safety, and was therefore not protected by the First Amendment.

You may also be referring to Korematsu v. United States, (1944), which upheld Franklin Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066 as constitutional, allowing the US military to place Japanese residents and Japanese-Americans living on the west coast into internment camps during World War II, for the alleged purpose of maintaining national security.

More Information

Martial law on the national level may be declared by Congress or the President. Under Article I, Section 8, Clause 15, of the Constitution, Congress has the power "[t]o provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress insurrections and repel Invasions." Article II, Section 2, Clause 1, of the Constitution declares that "[t]he President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States." Neither constitutional provision includes a direct reference to martial law. However, the Supreme Court has interpreted both to allow the declaration of martial law by the president or Congress. On the state level, a governor may declare martial law within her or his own state. The power to do so usually is granted in the state constitution.

Case Citations:

Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47 (1919)

Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214 (1944)