Overbreadth

A term used in describing a statute or regulation indicating that the particular law reaches beyond the scope of the subject matter it was originally intended to cover, causing it to cover activity that it was not intended to cover. "... the overbreadth doctrine enables litigants 'to challenge a statute not because their own rights of free expression are violated, but because of a judicial prediction or assumption that the statute's very existence may cause others not before the court to refrain from constitutionally protected speech or expression.' " (Hill v Colorado 732) Moreover, "particularly where conduct and not merely speech is involved, we believe that the overbreadth of a statute must not only be real, but substantial as well, judged in relation to the statute's plainly legitimate sweep." Broadrick v. Oklahoma, 413 U. S. 601, 612 (1973)