Law Commons^™

When Does F*** Not Mean F***?: Fcc V. Fox Television Stations And A Call For Protecting Emotive Speech, W. Wat Hopkins

Federal Communications Law Journal

The Supreme Court of the United States does not always deal cogently with nontraditional language. The most recent example is FCC v. Fox Television Stations, in which the Justices became sidetracked into attempting to define the f-word and then to determine whether, when used as a fleeting expletive rather than repeatedly, the word is indecent for broadcast purposes. The Court would do well to avoid definitions and heed Justice John Marshall Harlan's advice in Cohen v. California to provide protection for the emotive, as well as the cognitive, element of speech

The "Strong Medicine" Of The Overbreadth Doctrine: When Statutory Exceptions Are No More Than A Placebo, Christopher A. Pierce

Federal Communications Law Journal

In United States v. Stevens, the United States Supreme Court invalidated a federal statute criminalizing the interstate sale and distribution of depictions of animal cruelty on First Amendment grounds. While Stevens demonstrates the Court's reluctance to create a new category of speech outside of First Amendment protection, Stevens also stands for the proposition that borrowing the exceptions clause from the Court's obscenity standard will not adequately protect a statute from invalidation as overbroad. This Note discusses the use of the obscenity standard's exceptions clause in nonobscenity statutes and the Court's treatment of the exceptions clause in Stevens. This Note concludes …

The Roberts Court And Freedom Of Speech, Erwin Chemerinsky

Federal Communications Law Journal

This is an edited version of a speech delivered on December 16, 2010 in Washington, D.C., as part of the Federal Communications Bar Association's Distinguished Speaker Series.

This speech was given by Dean Erwin Chemerinsky in December 2010 as part of the FCBA's Distinguished Speaker Series. In the speech, Dean Chemerinsky offers his perspectives on and analysis of the Supreme Court's position on freedom of speech in recent years. He highlights important recent freedom of speech decisions made by the Roberts Court, and gives some projections as to where the court is heading in the years to come, given its …

International Media Law Reform And First Amendment Agnosticism: Review Of Lee Bollinger’S Uninhibited, Robust, And Wide-Open: A Free Press For A New Century, Enrique Armijo

Federal Communications Law Journal

Lee Bollinger's Uninhibited, Robust, and Wide-Open argues that in an increasingly globalized world, the United States must seek to export First Amendment free press principles to other countries. His project, however, is belied by the fact that media law is a product of context and history as much as legalism. His proposals for reconceptualizing our own animating vision for a free press here in the States are also in many important respects inconsistent with the First Amendment itself.

Overwhelmed By Big Consolidation: Bringing Back Regulation To Increase Diversity In Programming That Serves Minority Audiences, Caridad Austin

Federal Communications Law Journal

This Note addresses diversity in the media and the need for regulation that will enhance programming so that it is inclusive of minority audiences. It begins by analyzing the historical development of diversity in the media through landmark cases, such as Metro Broadcasting, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission, and it addresses the consolidating effects of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and the FCC's 2003 Report and Order. It argues that despite technological growth, the FCC's open market regulatory approach of the last three decades has resulted in a lack of diverse perspectives in the media and that the FCC needs …

Restraining Amazon.Com's Orwellian Potential: The Computer Fraud And Abuse Act As Consumer Rights Legislation, Alicia C. Sanders

Federal Communications Law Journal

In 2009, Amazon.com decided to correct a potential copyright violation by deleting e-books by George Orwell and Ayn Rand from the Kindles of users who had already purchased the offending texts. Two of those users, Justin Gawronski and Antoine Bruguier, claimed that Amazon.com had violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) by accessing their Kindles without authorization. The plaintiffs also relied on other causes of action, including breach of contract and trespass to chattels. Although the dispute quickly settled, the Gawronski lawsuit remains a useful case study that shows why the CFAA is a useful protection for consumers. Recently, …

Television For All: Increasing Television Accessibility For The Visually Impaired Through The Fcc's Ability To Regulate Video Description Technology, Joshua S. Robare

Federal Communications Law Journal

Video descriptions allow people who have visual impairments to get the full benefits from television. Through voiceovers those who have problems seeing are told what is happening on screen allowing them to get the most out of viewing television. However, the Federal Communications Commission currently lacks the authority to require broadcasters to create video descriptions for their programs following the decision in Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission. This situation contrasts with closed caption which allows viewers with hearing problems read the dialog being said on screen. The FCC retained the power to regulate closed captions …

Access To Media All A-Twitter: Revisiting Gertz And The Access To Media Test In The Age Of Social Networking, Ann E. O'Connor

Federal Communications Law Journal

Plaintiffs' access to media has long been a factor in defamation cases, enabling courts to determine whether that plaintiff is a public figure who must meet the actual malice standard, or whether that plaintiff is a private figure worthy of greater protection from defamation. This component of the public-private distinction can no longer be applied with clear precision, given the advent of social networking and today's world of widespread media access. In light of the massive changes that have taken place in the media world, the access to media test must be revisited and appropriately retailored to avoid an inappropriate …

Section 1983 Wrongful Death And Survival Actions In The Seventh Circuit: An Indiana Litigant's Guide To Claims After Russ V. Watts, Michelle R. Gough

Indiana Law Journal

The availability of survival and wrongful death damages in 42 U.S.C. § 1983 cases is an area that involves both changing precedent and unaddressed issues within the Seventh Circuit. In both of the aforementioned types of claims, the cases will necessarily involve the tangled application of both state and federal law, and the Seventh Circuit and other federal courts of appeals have struggled to provide a clear, coherent approach to these issues. Indeed, there is strong disagreement among the circuits. Dean Steven H. Steinglass offered the most comprehensive discussion of the nature of both types of claims under § 1983 …