The Facts of Wisconsin v. Mitchell:
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 sentence of the accused party 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.

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