FlowVoid
He didn’t just convince people. For example, in one of the murders he drove with his accomplices to the crime scene.
Prosecutors can use any concrete action, no matter how minor, to tie him to the murder. Manson’s gun was used in the Tate murders, which is more than enough. But even giving the others a place to stay can be enough.
Our interpretation of the First Amendment has undeniably changed a lot over the centuries. The Sedition Act, also in 1798, sent someone to jail for calling the President “not only a repulsive pedant, a gross hypocrite, and an unprincipled oppressor, but…in private life, one of the most egregious fools upon the continent.” Such a prosecution would be a non-starter today.
It’s sad that the Second Amendment seems to be frozen in time, for now.
Yes, I quoted the Logan Act to point out that it’s directly at odds with the First Amendment. A law that bans “influencing” someone will quickly be ruled unconstitutional as soon as anyone tries to enforce it.
There are many anachronistic laws that are still on the books but will be thrown out if anyone tries to enforce them today. For example, in some states homosexuality is technically banned, but those bans are unenforceable and people “flagrantly violate the law” every day.
The Logan Act says nothing about contracts.
It bans “correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States”.
Trying to influence others is fundamentally protected by the First Amendment, even if (especially if!) your interests are not the same as those of the government.
Nobody has ever been found guilty of violating the Logan Act. Nobody has even been charged with it in over 150 years.
Why? Probably because prosecutors realize that in the modern era, a 1798 law that bans “commencing or carrying on any correspondence with a foreign government” would almost certainly be struck down on First Amendment grounds.
Key detail:
The question for the justices is that the 6th Circuit and several other appeals courts apply a higher standard when members of a majority group make discrimination claims.
So the SCOTUS won’t be deciding whether she was discriminated against, they will be deciding how courts should decide whether she was discriminated against.