Law Commons^™

Copy This Essay: How Fair Use Doctrine Harms Free Speech And How Copying Serves It, Rebecca Tushnet

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Defenders of transformative uses have invoked the First Amendment to bolster claims that such uses should not be subject to the copyright owner’s permission. But this focus on transformation is critically incomplete, leaving unchallenged much of copyright’s scope, despite the large number of nontransformative copying activities that are also instances of free speech. The current debate leaves the way open for expansions of copyright that, while not targeted at dissenting viewpoints, nonetheless may have a profoundly negative effect on freedom of speech. In other words, transformation has limited our thinking about the free speech interests implicated by copying. This essay …

Saving Title Vii: Using Intent To Distinguish Harassment From Expression, Robert Austin Ruescher

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

Like two reluctant boxers in a ring, the First Amendment and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 have been sparring halfheartedly for years, circling and jabbing each other in courts and law reviews. The bout pits the constitutional right to be free from government censorship against the statutory "right to work in an environment free from discriminatory intimidation, ridicule, and insult." As stated by the Supreme Court in another context, it pits "the First Amendment rights of the speaker" against "the protection the statute provides for the unwilling listener."

Both the First Amendment and Title VII …

Regulation Through Intimidation: Congressional Hearings And Political Pressure On America's Entertainment Media, Kenneth A. Paulson

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This paper explores how Congress has shaped and limited the content of films, comic books, popular music, and television over the past century. Specifically, this report focuses on the path to "self-regulation" and industry-wide codes for these four media, and how government used pressure and influence to spur the adoption of standards.

Typosquatters, The Tactical Fight Being Waged By Corporations, And Congress' Attempt To Fight Back In The Criminal Arena, David A. Gusewelle

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Part II of this Note presents an overview of domain names as well as a general overview of cybersquatting and trademarks. Part III analyzes some of the measures Congress has taken against cybersquatting and the case law under those measures. Part IV gives a general overview of typosquatters, who constitute a subgroup of cybersquatters. Part V discusses the TDNA and issues that have been addressed through U.S. v. Zuccarini. Part VI asks whether the TDNA is an unconstitutional restriction on free speech. Part VII questions whether criminal liability is appropriate and argues for a higher culpability standard in § 2252(B)(b) …

Torts: Praying For The Parish Or Preying On The Parish? Clergy Sexual Misconduct And The Tort Of Clergy Malpractice, Emily C. Short

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Raiding Islam: Searches That Target Religious Institutions, John G. Douglass

Law Faculty Publications

On the morning of March 20, 2002, while television cameras recorded the events for the evening news, dozens of federal agents entered and searched the offices of several Islamic educational and religious organizations in Northern Virginia. The agents were searching, it appears, for evidence that those organizations contributed money to international groups known to have sponsored terrorist acts. By most public accounts, the targeted institutions were regarded as moderate and progressive voices in American Islam. For that reason, the searches sent shock waves through the American Muslim community. Muslims who had supported the Administration's domestic war on terrorism began to …

The Prodigal Argument: Mccollum V. Board Of Education, Gerard V. Bradley

Journal Articles

From the Introduction

Judges, lawyers, and scholars all cite the 1947 case, Everson v. Board of Education, as the cornerstone of Establishment Clause doctrine. They are right to do so. The Everson Court took two path-breaking steps: incorporation and strict separation. The justices there held, for the first time, that the Fourteenth Amendment made the Establishment Clause applicable to state action. Then they offered a novel account of what non-establishment meant. In sweeping language (which you can find at 330 U.S. 15 - 16) they held that it meant more than equality among religions. By requiring that all government …

Not For Attribution: Government's Interest In Protecting The Integrity Of Its Own Expression, Helen Norton

Publications

Public entities increasingly maintain that the First Amendment permits them to ensure that private speakers' views are not mistakenly attributed to the government. Consider, for example, Virginia's efforts to ban the Sons of Confederate Veterans' display of the Confederate flag logo on state-sponsored specialty license plates. Seeking to remain neutral in the ongoing debate over whether the Confederate flag is a symbol of "hate" or "heritage," Virginia argued that the state would be wrongly perceived as endorsing the flag if the logo appeared on a state-issued plate adorned by the identifier "VIRGINIA." The Fourth Circuit was unpersuaded, holding that the …

Protecting The Lady From Toledo: Post-Usa Patriot Act Electronic Surveillance At The Library, Susan Nevelow Mart

Publications

Library patrons are worried about the government looking over their shoulder while they read and surf the Internet. Because of the broad provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act, the lack of judicial and legislative oversight, the potential for content overcollection, and the ease with which applications for pen register, section 215 orders, or national security letters can be obtained, these fears cannot be dismissed.

You Can't Ask (Or Say) That: The First Amendment And Civil Rights Restrictions On Decisionmaker Speech, Helen L. Norton

Faculty Scholarship

Many antidiscrimination statutes limit speech by employers, landlords, lenders, and other decisionmakers in one or both of two ways: (1) by prohibiting queries soliciting information about an applicant's disability, sexual orientation, marital status, or other protected characteristic; and (2) by proscribing discriminatory advertisements or other expressions of discriminatory preference for applicants based on race, sex, age, sexual orientation, or other protected characteristics.

This Article explores how we might think about these laws for First Amendment purposes. Part I outlines the range of civil rights restrictions on decisionmaker speech, while Part II identifies the antidiscrimination and privacy concerns that drive their …

Say Cheese: The Constitutionality Of State-Mandated Airtime On Public Broadcasting Stations In Wisconsin, Andrew D. Cotlar

Federal Communications Law Journal

Last year, the State of Wisconsin passed legislation which would require statechartered public broadcasting television networks to carry political advertising for candidates free of charge. In this article, Andrew Cotlar raises many concerns about the wisdom of such legislation and the impact this trend may have on public broadcasters throughout the nation. The author begins by analyzing the current position of the law on political access requirements, at both federal and state levels, and then argues that the public television stations should continue to be free to exercise substantial editorial discretion. The Article proceeds to critique the Wisconsin statute as …

Privacy Rights Versus Foia Disclosure Policy: The "Uses And Effects" Double Standard In Access To Personally-Identifiable Information In Government Records, Michael Hoefges, Martin E. Halstuk, Bill F. Chamberlin

UF Law Faculty Publications

The U.S. government maintains a vast amount of personally-identifiable information on millions of American citizens. Much of this information is contained in electronic databases maintained by federal agencies. Various Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requesters, such as journalists, marketers, and union organizers seek this information for different purposes including investigative reporting and targeted solicitations. These kinds of uses are known as "derivative uses" because this government-compiled information is requested for purposes other than the official purposes for which the information was originally gathered. These and other derivative uses of personally-identifiable information often implicate privacy concerns. Conversely, restrictions on public access …

Equal Justice Under The Law: Why Iolta Programs Do Not Violate The First Amendment, Hillary A. Webber

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Tattoos And The First Amendment - Art Should Be Protected As Art: The South Carolina Supreme Court Upholds The State's Ban On Tattooing, Bebby G. Frederick

South Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Republican Party Of Minnesota V. White: The Lifting Of Judicial Speech Restraint, David B. Bogard

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

National Security And The First Amendment: A Judicial Role In Maximizing Public Access To Information, Matthew Silverman

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Filled Milk, Footnote Four & The First Amendment: An Analysis Of The Preferred Position Of Speech After The Carolene Products Decision, Elizabeth Wallmeyer

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Role Of The Federal Communications Commission On The Path From The Vast Wasteland To The Fertile Plain, Kathleen Q. Abernathy

Federal Communications Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Revisiting The Vast Wasteland, Newton N. Minow, Fred H. Cate

Federal Communications Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Public Employers And E-Mail: A Primer For The Practitioner And The Public Professional, John F. Fatino

Northern Illinois University Law Review

E-mail and related technology have created multi-faceted issues for public employers and legal practitioners. The article examines the issue of e-mail communications from the perspective of public records and public meeting requirements of several midwestern states including the impact of e-mail on public employee "privacy" in light of several recent cases concerning the monitoring of employee e-mail. Public employer liability for misconduct in cyberspace is likewise explored. Public employees' rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution are examined as well. Finally, the article discusses the preservation of privileges and discovery/litigation issues concerning e-mail.

Ub Viewpoint – The Silence Of The Muslims, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

This article, written in the wake of the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, questions the failure of Muslims strongly to condemn acts of violence and murder committed by Islamic extremists, and argues that such silence encourages neutral parties to wonder if moderate Muslims may indeed sympathize with "the killers of 'infidels'" - which in turn can lead to fear, bias, and group defamation.

Avoiding Slim Reasoning And Shady Results: A Proposal For Indecency And Obscenity Regulation In Radio And Broadcast Television, Jacob T. Rigney

Federal Communications Law Journal

This Note explores the relevant law regarding the issue of indecency and obscenity in broadcast, with particular focus on a 2001 Policy Statement released by the FCC. The Author examines the major problems with the regulatory scheme as it now exists, and offers an alternative. The Author concludes by arguing that leaving the subjective decisions regarding indecency to market forces, leaving parents to determine what should or should not be indecent, and leaving the FCC free to pursue obscenity with greater zeal is the most appropriate course of action for the future.

Attacking Brandenburg With History: Does The Long-Term Harm Of Biased Speech Justify A Criminal Statute Suppressing It?, Anuj C. Desai

Federal Communications Law Journal

Book Review: Destructive Messages: How Hate Speech Paves the Way for Harmful Social Movements, Alexander Tsesis, New York: New York University Press, 2002, 246 pages.

A review of Alexander Tsesis's Destructive Messages: How Hate Speech Paves the Way for Harmful Social Movements, New York University Press, 2002. At one level, Alexander Tsesis's thesis is simply one in a long line of arguments about the need to regulate racist speech. Yet on another level, it is fundamentally different from much American literature on "hate speech" because Tsesis draws on a broad historical swath, and because he contends that the United States …

Prior Restraint Is Nearer Than Readers Realize, Steven P. Aggergaard

William Mitchell Law Review

Review of Minnesota Rag: Corruption, Yellow Journalism, and the Case That Saved Freedom of the Press. By Fred W. Friendly. University of Minnesota Press, 2003. 264 pages. $16.95.

Professional Sports Leagues And The First Amendment: A Closed Marketplace, Christopher J. Mckinny

Marquette Sports Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Virtues Of Knowing Less: Justifying Privacy Protections Against Disclosure, Daniel J. Solove

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This Article develops justifications for protections against the disclosure of private information. An extensive body of scholarship has attacked such protections as anathema to the Information Age, where the free flow of information is championed as a fundamental value. This Article responds to two general critiques of disclosure protections: (1) that they inhibit freedom of speech, and (2) that they restrict information useful for judging others.

Regarding the free speech critique, the Article argues that not all speech is of equal value; speech of private concern is less valuable than speech of public concern. The difficulty, however, is distinguishing between …

Freedom To Exclude After Boy Scouts Of America V. Dale: Do Private Schools Have A Right To Discriminate Against Homosexual Teachers?, Karen Lim

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

Filling The Void In First Amendment Jurisprudence: Is There A Solution For Replacing The Impotent System Of Prior Restraints?, Richard Favata

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

Secularism's Laws: State Blaine Amendments And Religious Persecution, Kyle Duncan

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

Stretching The Equal Access Act Beyond Equal Access, Aaron H. Caplan

Seattle University Law Review

This article explores the ramifications of stretching the Equal Access Act ("EAA" or "the Act") beyond equal access to school premises for meetings during noninstructional time. Part I provides background on the Equal Access Act, from its legislative origins through its interpretations by federal courts. This part includes a careful look at the statute's often confusing language. Part II describes and criticizes Prince v. Jacoby. I argue that the decision is plagued with legal errors large and small, but that the main error is its failure to consider a central question: equal access to what? Both the EAA and …