First Amendment Commons^™

Harassing Speech In The Public Schools: The Validity Of Schools' Regulation Of Fighting Words And The Consequences If They Do Not, Adam A. Milani

Akron Law Review

What can - and should - schools do about the harassment which their students are suffering? While the issues of hateful and harassing speech and political correctness on college campuses have received a great deal of attention in both the mass media and legal journals, the very real problem of student-to-student harassment in grammar and high schools has only recently been given attention in either forum. More specifically, there has been little attention paid to the questions of whether (1) the First Amendment permits grammar and high schools to control harassing speech by students, (2) schools violate civil rights statutes …

Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee V. Federal Election Commission: Maintaining What Remains Of The Federal Election Campaign Act Through Constitutional Compromise, Mary Sherris

Akron Law Review

This Note will discuss the Court's reasoning and holding in Colorado Republican. Additionally, this Note will discuss how the Court distinguished independent and coordinated campaign expenditures that were first established in Buckley v. Valeo. Finally, this Note will discuss why the Court did not address whether limitations on coordinated expenditures for political parties are protected by the First Amendment.

National Endowment Of The Arts V. Finley: A Dispute Over The "Decency And Respect" Provision, Alicia M. Choi

Akron Law Review

There is substantial controversy over whether the government should be involved in art funding. The purpose of this Note is to present and critique arguments both supporting the “decency and respect” provision and those opposing it. Those who support the clause state that although the people do not have a constitutional right to receive funding, the “decency and respect” provision does not violate the people’s First and Fifth Amendments. The provision is only a “consideration”, not a requirement. Opponents of the “decency and respect” provision argue that the First and Fifth Amendments prohibit the government from controlling the content of …

Www.Obscenity.Com: An Analysis Of Obscenity And Indecency Regulation Of The Internet, Kelly M. Doherty

Akron Law Review

This comment explores the constitutionality of federal regulations as applied to Internet content and alternatives to government regulation. Part II provides background on the Internet, First Amendment obscenity and indecency law as applied to communications media, and past and current legislation enacted to regulate Internet content. Part III analyzes the constitutionality of COPA, and discusses why other alternatives are more effective and preferable to government regulation. Part IV concludes that protecting children from harmful Internet content is the responsibility of parents, and therefore, Internet regulation should begin at home.

Buckley V. Valeo, Political Disclosure And The First Amendment, Trevor Potter

Akron Law Review

Put differently, the reality is that disclosure’s constitutional status is unclear. The Supreme Court’s jurisprudential framework is often unpredictable. Even when the Court has been consistent in choosing a formal framework with which to approach disclosure laws, it has been inconsistent and unpredictable in applying that framework. To be sure, this issue takes on particular urgency in light of the importance both sides in the campaign finance debate attach to disclosure of campaign spending (however differently defined), and the existence of the Internet as a vehicle for immediate mass dissemination of information required to be reported. Accordingly, providing an overview …

A Symposium: The Legal And Polticial Implications Of Buckley V. Valeo (1976), Christopher P. Banks, John C. Green

Akron Law Review

One of the most vexing issues in constitutional jurisprudence concerns the political regulation of money and its democratic implications. The resolution of the constitutional question for democracy involves striking a balance between two competing interests: the protection of political liberty under the First Amendment and the legitimate interest government has in preventing money from having a corrosive or corrupting effect on the political system. With its landmark ruling in Buckley v. Valeo, some say that the Supreme Court successfully reconciled these interests and, in fact, strongly preserved the basic ideal of American freedom. Different commentators, however, maintain that the Supreme …

Paps' A.M. V. City Of Erie: The Wrong Route To The Right Direction, Michael Mcbride

Akron Law Review

This note will examine the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision in Pap’s A.M. v. City of Erie, by looking at the policy behind the decision, while also examining the decision in light of the previous United States Supreme Court decision in Barnes v. Glen Theatre. The note will examine why the decision in Pap’s A.M. was an unnecessary misinterpretation of the United States Constitution. It will examine how and why the Pennsylvania Supreme Court could have settled the issue of nude dancing in Pennsylvania and avoided review by the United States Supreme Court by deciding the case under the Pennsylvania Constitution …

Citizenship Education And The Free Exercise Of Religion, Tyll Van Geel

Akron Law Review

Part One of this article provides a broad-brush overview of constitutional doctrine as it bears on citizenship education in the public schools. The remaining parts of the article focus on a Free Exercise challenge to the introduction of a Callaneseque program of citizenship education in a public school. Part Two thus explicates Callan’s theory. Part Three outlines my approach to the Free Exercise Clause. Part Four applies that approach to a challenge brought against a Callanesque program of citizenship education. Part Five takes up other possible rights-based limits on the education power and offers a suggestion regarding how citizenship education …

Teaching Free Speech From An Incomplete Fossil Record, Michael Kent Curtis

Akron Law Review

The second part of this symposium has been devoted to how we teach the Constitution. It has emphasized what gets left out. The reader will see a pattern. Paul Finkelman is a leading scholar on the law of slavery and the Constitution. Paul thinks – and I believe he is correct – that the immense influence of slavery on American constitutional law is too often neglected in our constitutional law courses. James Wilson has studied how political philosophers – Aristotle, Rousseau, James Harrington, and others – have understood the distribution of wealth as a central factor affecting how the constitution …

Kirsch V. Wisconsin Department Of Corrections: Will The Supreme Court Say "Hands Off" Again?, Owen J. Rarric

Akron Law Review

This Note examines the struggle of prison inmates to gain access to religious materials; materials that have been forbidden by prison officials. Part II of the Note will examine the historical development of inmates’ constitutional rights. It will also analyze the Supreme Court’s standard for reviewing prison regulations involving inmates’ constitutional rights. Moreover, the Note discusses Congress’ attempt to set the standard of review. The Note then examines the significance of the Kirsch decision. Finally, the Note analyzes the fourth factor of the Turner Standard used in Kirsch and explores the possible effect of a new legislative act on prisoners’ …

Lorillard Tobacco Co. V. Reilly: The Supreme Court Sends First Amendment Guarantees Up In Smoke By Applying The Commercial Speech Doctrine To Content-Based Regulations, Kerri L. Keller

Akron Law Review

This note examines why the Supreme Court’s application of the commercial speech doctrine to purely “content-based” regulations erodes First Amendment guarantees. Section II provides a brief history of the First Amendment and discusses the different levels of judicial scrutiny applied in First Amendment cases. Section III provides the statement of facts, the procedural history, and the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Lorillard. Finally, Part IV examines the decision in Lorillard and discusses why the Court should have applied strict scrutiny to the regulations at issue. It further discusses how the Court’s refusal to apply strict scrutiny to content-based commercial …

Ashcroft V. Free Speech Coalition: Can We Roast The Pig Without Burning Down The House In Regulating "Virtual" Child Pornography?, Ryan P. Kennedy

Akron Law Review

This Note will explore the struggle in the area of child pornography between the state’s legitimate interest in the protection of children and the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech. Part II provides a brief history of the free speech doctrine as related to the area of child pornography prevention. Part III discusses the circuit split, as well as the facts, procedural history, and the holding of the Supreme Court. Finally, Part IV will examine the effect of the Court’s interpretation of the statute as unconstitutional, explain why the decision was correct, and look at Congress’ recent efforts at new …

Transformation: The Bright Line Between Commercial Publicity Rights And The First Amendment, W. Mack Webner, Leigh Ann Lindquist

Akron Law Review

The Right of Publicity provides to each and every person the right to use his or her persona for his or her benefit and provides a cause of action to stop the unauthorized use of that persona for commercial purposes.

This right is one of the many provided by the laws of unfair competition. Infringement of this right has become a frequently pleaded count made by attorneys who are trying to protect their clients from the unauthorized use of the client’s persona for commercial purposes. While the genesis of the right has been commonly thought to be a splintering from …

Professor Nimmer Meets Professor Schauer (And Others): An Analysis Of "Definitional Balancing" As A Methodology For Determining The "Visible Boundaries Of The First Amendment", Norman T. Deutsch

Akron Law Review

This article examines definitional balancing as a methodology for determining the “visible boundaries of the First Amendment.” More specifically, it focuses on the Court’s use of definitional balancing, as a technique for drawing definitional lines within categories of speech, to distinguish between speech that is included within the First Amendment, and speech that is excluded so that it may be proscribed based on its content. Part II describes definitional balancing in Professor Nimmer’s terms. Part III discusses the Court’s application of definitional balancing and the issues raised by commentators.

An Analysis Of The Legality Of Television Cameras Broadcasting Juror Deliberations In A Criminal Case, Daniel H. Erskine Esq.

Akron Law Review

This work sets out the constitutional, statutory, and common law applicable to television’s intrusion into the jury room. The first section addresses federal constitutional considerations focusing on Article III Section 2, the Sixth Amendment, and the First Amendment. The second section analyzes certain federal rules and particular statutes applicable to televising federal judicial proceedings, as well as the rationale behind their enactment. Finally, the third section discusses comparative approaches addressing television’s intrusion into the courtroom, particularly focusing on recent jurisprudence from the European Court of Human Rights and the Scottish Court of Session.

Creating The Public Forum, Samantha Barbas

Akron Law Review

This article describes the development of the public forum doctrine in the context of a larger story about the nation’s efforts in this period to come to terms with its first modern crisis of communication...The public forum is both a site for public debate and a means of communication for the less privileged. In the 1930s and 1940s, intellectuals and activists sought to enlist the state in the creation of “public forums” on the radio, in print journalism, and in public space. This article examines this public forum movement and its enduring impact on the free speech doctrine and social …

Doma And Diffusion Theory: Ending Animus Legislation Through A Rational Basis Approach, David J. Herzig

Akron Law Review

The purpose of this Article is to expand the scope of the discussion from one of morality to include a sociological approach, called Diffusion Theory...Section II of this Article explains Diffusion Theory. Section III explores the background of DOMA and the factual background in which DOMA is being challenged by the states and private citizens. Section IV discusses the fundamentals behind the Florida adoption ban and how the change in the message by the challengers has proven effective. The final part, Section V, analyzes whether the approach should center on the inevitability of the change, as reflected in the Justice …

Thomas Jefferson And The Establishment Clause, Mark J. Chadsey

Akron Law Review

The purpose of this paper is to ask whether the historical record actually supports either of these assumptions. A note about my mode of analysis is necessary at this juncture. When inquiring about Jefferson’s influence on the Establishment Clause, it is important to focus on the entire process by which it was adopted rather than its mere introduction by Madison in the House of Representatives. Its adoption, after all, required the assent of two-thirds of both chambers of Congress, three-fourths of the state legislatures, and the support of a majority of the American public. Without the requisite support of all …

Balancing Disclosure And Privacy Interests In Campaign Finance, Sarah Harding

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

The law of campaign finance pits two important First Amendment interests against each other: disclosure and privacy. The Supreme Court has recognized the need to balance these two interests to allow for effective elections and to safeguard individual rights. However, through the years the Court has failed to balance these interests equally, resulting in vacillating decisions that unfairly sacrifice one for the other. From Burroughs v. United States in 1934 to Citizens United v. FEC in 2010, the Court has failed to provide a workable roadmap for legislatures in the creation of campaign finance disclosure laws and for lower courts …

First Amendment Cosmopolitanism, Skepticism, And Democracy, Timothy Zick

Faculty Publications

This is a response to Professor Ronald J. Krotoszynski, Jr.’s review of my book, The Cosmopolitan First Amendment: Protecting Transborder Expressive and Religious Liberties (Cambridge University Press, 2014). The response explains the basic principles of First Amendment cosmopolitanism and highlights the importance of the First Amendment’s transborder dimension. It also responds to skeptical and critical reactions to some of the book’s arguments. Finally, the response elaborates on First Amendment cosmopolitanism’s relationship to democratic values.

Wilson V. Wilson: The Effect Of Qdros On Appealing Divorce Decrees, Joshua A. Dean

Akron Law Review

In most divorces today, the largest asset held by the divorcing couple is a retirement fund belonging to one of the spouses. Courts invery state must decide how to divide a married couple’s property in order to provide each spouse his or her proper share. But when there are no assets large enough to offset the value of the retirement pension, divorce courts must find a way to “equitably distribute” the proceeds of the plan. Dealing with this large asset presented problems in the past as Congress sought to limit the ability to assign proceeds of retirement plans to anyone …

A Comparison Of Laws In The Phillipines, The U.S.A., Taiwan, And Belarus To Regulate The Mail-Order Bride Industry, Roxanne Sims

Akron Law Review

The mail-order bride industry has existed since the early twentieth century, although the idea of women advertising themselves for marriage may seem unusual and extraordinary to some people. Mail-order brides became increasingly popular as male immigrant workers who settled in the United States sought wives from their home countries. People referred to these women as “picture brides,” and relatives frequently participated in arranging the marriages. However, the mail-order bride industry has changed significantly over the past century, with international marriage brokers (IMBs) currently operating all over the world. IMBs recruit prospective mail-order brides from their home countries via advertisements in …

Jon & Kate Plus The State: Why Congress Should Protect Children In Reality Programming, Dayna B. Royal

Akron Law Review

One is forced to wonder whether any laws exist to protect minors whose personal lives are laid bare as their own parents thrust them into the paparazzi’s spotlight. This article addresses this question, considering the best legal regime for regulating employment of children in reality programming, and suggesting an alternative to the status quo. To that end, Part II begins by identifying the various harms reality programming causes, arguing that participating in reality programming is detrimental both to the individual children who participate and to society in general. Part III surveys the current legal landscape, addressing first the federal law …

Revival: Toward A Formal Neutrality Approach To Economic Development Transfers To Religious Institutions, Ryan A. Doringo

Akron Law Review

Part I of this Note explores the contours of the complicated history of the Establishment Clause by examining the creation of the Lemon test and the inconsistencies of the test’s subsequent application. The Note then explores Justice O’Connor’s endorsement modification to that test. Part I concludes with a discussion of the Supreme Court’s move toward embracing a principle formal neutrality. Part II provides a factual history of the transfer at issue and a detailed summary of the District Court’s opinion in Wirtz. Part III of the Note explains that the Constitution does not preclude economic development transfers to religious institutions. …

Newsroom: Field '97 On Open Records, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

House Of Cards: How Rediscovering Republicanism Brings It Crashing Down, Jonathan E. Maddison

Catholic University Law Review

Using Frank Underwood’s maniacal political journey in the Netflix series House of Cards as an example of what is wrong with American politics, this article argues that the Supreme Court’s misapplication of First Amendment principles in Citizens United and other key campaign finance cases plays a large and problematic role. Providing an extensive historical overview of republicanism and First Amendment jurisprudence, this article suggests that a return to republican ideals, while not perfect, is both the solution and proper tool of analysis to be used by the Supreme Court for campaign finance cases and beyond.

The Constitution And Revenge Porn, John A. Humbach

Pace Law Review

While the Supreme Court has recognized a number of circumstances that justify government impingements on free expression, the Court has been extremely reluctant to permit speech restrictions that discriminate based on a message’s content, its viewpoint, or the speaker. It has nearly always refused to tolerate such discrimination unless the case falls within one of the several historically established exceptions to First Amendment protection. Because of the special place that the modern First Amendment cases accord to content discrimination (and the allied discriminations based on viewpoint and speaker), any statutes designed specifically to outlaw revenge porn as such would seem …

Tinkering With Success: College Athletes, Social Media And The First Amendment, Mary Margaret Meg Penrose

Pace Law Review

Good law does not always make good policy. This article seeks to provide a legal assessment, not a policy directive. The policy choices made by individual institutions and athletic departments should be guided by law, but absolutely left to institutional discretion. Many articles written on college student-athletes’ social media usage attempt to urge policy directives clothed in constitutional analysis.

In this author’s opinion, these articles have lost perspective – constitutional perspective. This article seeks primarily to provide a legal and constitutional assessment so that schools and their athletic departments will have ample information to then make their own policy choices.

Five Justices Have Transformed The First Amendment’S Freedom Of Religion To Freedom From Religion, Gerald Walpin

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Lost In Compromise: Free Speech, Criminal Justice, And Attorney Pretrial Publicity, Margaret Tarkington

Florida Law Review

Prior approaches to examining attorney speech rights have failed to address pretrial publicity in a manner that protects the criminal justice system and the essential roles of the prosecutor and defense attorney therein, as discussed in Part I. Yet the access-to-justice theory, as discussed in Part II, attunes attorney speech rights to the role of the attorney in the proper and constitutional functioning of the justice system. As discussed in Part III, the very nature of the criminal justice system imposes vastly differing obligations and duties on the prosecution and defense and their respective attorney–client relationships. In Part IV, this …