Wisconsin v. Mitchell facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Wisconsin v. Mitchell
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued April 21, 1993 Decided June 11, 1993
Full case name	Wisconsin v. Todd Mitchell
Citations	508 U.S. 476 (more) 113 S. Ct. 2194; 124 L. Ed. 2d 436; 1993 U.S. LEXIS 4024; 61 U.S.L.W. 4575; 21 Media L. Rep. 1520; 93 Cal. Daily Op. Service 4314; 93 Daily Journal DAR 7353
Prior history	Defendant convicted, Kenosha County Circuit Court; affirmed, 473 N.W.2d 1 (Wis. App. 1991); reversed, 485 N.W.2d 807 (Wis. 1992); cert. granted, 506 U.S. 1033 (1992)
Subsequent history	On remand, affirmed, 504 N.W.2d 610 (Wis. 1993)
Holding
Enhanced sentencing for bias-motivated crimes does not violate a defendant's First Amendment rights. Wisconsin Supreme Court reversed and remanded.
Court membership
Case opinions
Majority	Rehnquist, joined by unanimous
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. I; Wis. Stat. § 939.645

Wisconsin v. Mitchell, 508 U.S. 476 (1993), was a case in which the United States Supreme Court held that enhanced penalties for racially-motivated crimes do not violate criminal defendants' First Amendment rights. It was a landmark precedent pertaining to First Amendment free speech arguments for hate crime legislation. In effect, the Court ruled that a state may consider whether a crime was committed or initially considered due to an intended victim's status in a protected class.