Charlotte Anita Whitney

Released
Date of birth:07. 07. 1867
Date of death:04. 02. 1955
Age:87† Deceased
Gender:Female
Race:White
Era:1910s
State:California
Time Imprisoned:
7 Years 4 Months 5 Days
Support
Anti-Militarism Anti-War Socialism Anarchism
Charlotte Anita Whitney

Biography

Charlotte Anita Whitney Wellesley-educated heiress (great-niece of Supreme Court Justice Stephen J. Field), social worker, and California suffrage and NAACP organizer who became a charter member of the Communist Labor Party in 1919. Arrested November 28, 1919 after a speech to the Oakland Civic Club; charged with five counts under California's brand-new Criminal Syndicalism Act. Conviction unanimously upheld in Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357 (1927) — most famous for Justice Brandeis's concurring opinion articulating the "clear and present danger" standard. June 20, 1927 California Governor C.C. Young granted her an unconditional pardon.

Case

San Quentin / California state courts
Charges: California Criminal Syndicalism Act (1919), 5 counts.
Arrested: Nov 27, 1919
Sentenced: Feb 14, 1920
Incarcerated: Feb 14, 1920
Released: Jun 19, 1927
Sentence: 1-14 years criminal-syndicalism felony (free on bail; pardoned by Gov. C.C. Young June 20, 1927) Verdict as recorded: Yes; affirmed 274 U.S. 357 (1927); pardoned same year
Convicted: Yes
Institution State: California

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