The accused asked a group of black males to attack a white boy walking
nearby. They beat the boy severely. Convicted of aggravated battery, the
accused was sentenced to the maximum two years. Wisconsin, however, had a statue known as
"hate crimes" law that provided a longer maximum sentence for an offense
whenever a victim was intentionally selected because of race, religion, color,
disability, sexual orientation, national origin, or ancestry. Two years
was added to the accused's sentence and he appealed to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals which
upheld the sentence. The Wisconsin Supreme Court reversed, ruling that the
law: 1) violated the First Amendment by punishing what the sate legislature had deemed to
be offensive thought, and 2) was unconstitutionally broad because the use
of speech before the offense as evidence would have a chilling effect on those who
feared prosecution for such an offense.