MLchartDataset catalogue

Overbreadth

Term · Law · MLC-T-LAW-003591

A legal doctrine asserting that a statute is unconstitutional if it prohibits a substantial amount of protected speech or conduct along with unprotected speech or conduct. This doctrine is primarily applied in First Amendment cases to prevent laws from chilling legitimate expression. A law found to be overbroad may be struck down entirely or limited in its application.

Table 1. Record
IdentifierMLC-T-LAW-003591
FieldLaw
Record as JSON 
{
  "id": "MLC-T-LAW-003591",
  "term": "Overbreadth",
  "field": "Law",
  "definition": "A legal doctrine asserting that a statute is unconstitutional if it prohibits a substantial amount of protected speech or conduct along with unprotected speech or conduct. This doctrine is primarily applied in First Amendment cases to prevent laws from chilling legitimate expression. A law found to be overbroad may be struck down entirely or limited in its application.",
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/law/overbreadth/"
}

Record 3,590 of 5,441 in Law terminology (MLC-0107). Request the full dataset.