First Amendment Commons^™

Municipal Wi-Fi And The Third-Party Doctrine: Rethinking An Antiquated Framework, David Forrest

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Shh! State Legislators Bite Your Tongues: Semantics Dictates The Constitutionality Of Public School "Moment Of Silence" Statutes, Elizabeth Anne Walsh

The Catholic Lawyer

No abstract provided.

Memorandum, Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. V. Colo. Civil Rights Comm., __ U.S. __ (2017): Legislative History Of Sb08-200, Matt Simonsen

Research Data

This legal Memorandum on the legislative history of a 2008 amendment to the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA) was researched and written by Matt Simonsen, J.D. Candidate 2019, University of Colorado Law School, and submitted to law professors Craig Konnoth and Melissa Hart. The Memorandum is cited in Brief of Amici Curiae Colorado Organizations and Individuals in Support of Respondents, Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, __U.S.__ (2018) (No. 16-111).

4 p.

"The legislative history primarily identifies two issues that SB08-200 was designed to resolve: (1) the need for dignity and access to justice for LGBT people and …

Master File, Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. V. Colo. Civil Rights Comm., __ U.S. __ (2017): Legislative History Of Sb08-200, Matt Simonsen

Research Data

This Master File of the legislative history of a 2008 amendment to the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA) was researched and compiled by Matt Simonsen, J.D. Candidate 2019, University of Colorado Law School, and submitted to law professors Craig Konnoth and Melissa Hart. The SB08-200 Master File is cited in Brief of Amici Curiae Colorado Organizations and Individuals in Support of Respondents, Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, __U.S.__ (2018) (No. 16-111).

449 p.

Open Source: The Enewsletter Of Rwu Law 09-22-2017, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Reforming State Laws On How Businesses Can Ban Guns: "No Guns" Signs, Property Rights, And The First Amendment, Christine M. Quinn

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Every state has different regulations regarding how businesses can ban guns. Some states mandate that specific signs be posted in specific places while other states say nothing on the issue. This Note first establishes that even under Heller and McDonald, private business owners have a right to control their private property, which includes a right to prohibit their customers from carrying firearms into their buildings. It then introduces some states’ requirements for “No Guns” signs and examines their weaknesses, particularly from a First Amendment, compelled speech perspective. The Note concludes that some current state regulations are ineffective, unclear, and outright …

Newsroom: Horwitz On Panhandling Ordinances And The First Amendment 05-26-2017, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Rwu First Amendment Blog: Andrew Horwitz's Blog: First Amendment Protects The Right To Give And To Receive 05-23-2017, Andrew Horwitz

Law School Blogs

No abstract provided.

Updating The Social Network: How Outdated And Unclear State Legislation Violates Sex Offenders’ First Amendment Rights, Elizabeth Tolon

Fordham Law Review

Readily available on computers, phones, tablets, or television, social media has become a necessary platform of expression for many. But, for others, social media is an inaccessible tool whose very use has criminal repercussions. To protect innocent children, many states have enacted legislation restricting sex offenders’ access to social media. Unfortunately, this legislation is often outdated, overly restrictive, and unconstitutional under the First Amendment. North Carolina has recently attracted national attention, as its statute highlights the potential constitutional issues states face in drafting such legislation. To avoid the constitutional concerns that North Carolina faces, state legislators must draft statutes narrowly …

Beyond The First Amendment: What The Evolution Of Maryland's Constitutional Free-Speech Guarantee Shows About Its Intended Breadth, Anthony W. Kraus

University of Baltimore Law Forum

Most Maryland lawyers are vaguely aware that Maryland's Declaration of Rights contains its own guarantee of free speech that is worded differently from the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. What the Declaration of Rights actually says about free speech, however, and what can be inferred from its distinctive phrasing and legislative history, are not matters that have received much particularized attention. Decisions of Maryland's courts routinely state that Article 40 of the Declaration of Rights - the principal source of state free-speech rights - is construed in pari materia with the First Amendment, which, as a practical matter, …

Recent Development: Mitchell V. Md. Motor Vehicle Admin.: Vanity Licence Plates Constitute Private Speech In A Nonpublic Forum, Which Require Restrictions To Be Reasonable And Viewpoint Neutral, Sarah J. Jentilet

University of Baltimore Law Forum

The Court of Appeals of Maryland held that the Motor Vehicle Administration acted within constitutional boundaries when it recalled a vanity license plate displaying the word "MIERDA." Mitchell v. Md. Motor Vehicle Admin., 450 Md. 282, 288, 148 A.3d 319, 323 (2016). The court found that the message on a vanity plate is considered private speech in a nonpublic forum, and accordingly government speech restrictions must be reasonable and viewpoint neutral. Id.

In 2009, the Motor Vehicle Administration ("MVA") issued vanity plates with the term "MIERDA" to John T. Mitchell ("Mitchell"). Two years later, Mitchell renewed the plates. Thereafter, the …

New York's "Minor" Obscenity Statute Held Constitutional

The Catholic Lawyer

No abstract provided.

A Free Speech Response To The Gay Rights/Religious Liberty Conflict, Andrew Koppelman

Northwestern University Law Review

The most sensible reconciliation of the tension between religious liberty and public accommodations law, in the recent cases involving merchants with religious objections to same-sex marriage, would permit business owners to present their views to the world, but forbid them either to threaten to discriminate or to treat any individual customer worse than others. Even if such businesses have no statutory right to refuse to facilitate ceremonies they regard as immoral, they are unlikely to be asked to participate in those ceremonies. This solution may, however, be forbidden by the law of hostile environment harassment. That raises a severe free …

The Freedom To Film Pornography, Marc J. Randazza

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Campaign Finance Advisory Opinions At The State Level, Allen Dickerson, Zac Morgan

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Privacy Policymaking Of State Attorneys General, Danielle Keats Citron

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Town Of Greece And City Of Saguenay: Non-Establishment Principles With Or Without An Establishment Clause, 14 First Amend. L. Rev. 343 (2016), Donald L. Beschle

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Panhandling And The First Amendment: How Spider-Man Is Reducing The Quality Of Life In New York City, Steven J. Ballew

Brooklyn Law Review

Recently, New York and other cities have taken steps to regulate panhandling activity in their communities. These regulations are informed by Broken Windows policing, which emphasizes addressing quality-of-life issues as a strategy for reducing crime. Yet government-imposed limitations on panhandling raise concerns about whether such measures violate panhandlers’ First Amendment rights. This note explores whether it is possible to separate the act of panhandling—defined as approaching a stranger in public and requesting immediate and gratuitous cash payment for oneself—from expression that is protected by the First Amendment. It concludes that, based on a concurrence from Justice Kennedy in International Society …

In The Shadows Of Sunlight: The Effects Of Transparency On State Political Campaigns, Abby K. Wood, Douglas M. Spencer

Publications

In recent years, the courts have invalidated a variety of campaign finance laws while simultaneously upholding disclosure requirements. Courts view disclosure as a less-restrictive means to root out corruption while critics claim that disclosure chills speech and deters political participation. Using individual-level contribution data from state elections between 2000 and 2008, we find that the speech-chilling effects of disclosure are negligible. On average, less than one donor per candidate is likely to stop contributing when the public visibility of campaign contributions increases. Moreover, we do not observe heterogeneous effects for small donors or ideological outliers despite an assumption in First …

Sign Regulation After Reed: Suggestions For Coping With Legal Uncertainty, Alan C. Weinstein

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

This article discusses Reed v. Town of Gilbert, in which the Court resolved a Circuit split over what constitutes content based sign regulations. We note that Justice Thomas's majority opinion applies a mechanical "need to read" approach to this question, and then explore the doctrinal and practical concerns raised by this approach. Doctrinally, we explore the tensions between Thomas's "need to read" approach and the Court's current approach of treating some regulation of speech as content-neutral despite the fact that a message must be read to determine its regulatory treatment. A prime example being the Court's "secondary effects" doctrine. …

Sign Regulation After Reed: Suggestions For Coping With Legal Uncertainty, Alan Weinstein, Brian Connolly

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

This article discusses Reed v. Town of Gilbert, in which the Court resolved a Circuit split over what constitutes content based sign regulations. We note that Justice Thomas's majority opinion applies a mechanical "need to read" approach to this question, and then explore the doctrinal and practical concerns raised by this approach. Doctrinally, we explore the tensions between Thomas's "need to read" approach and the Court's current approach of treating some regulation of speech as content-neutral despite the fact that a message must be read to determine its regulatory treatment. A prime example being the Court's "secondary effects" doctrine. Practically, …

Obscenity Law In Ohio, Richard H. Harris

Akron Law Review

Ohio's new obscenity statutes enacted in 1972 and made effective on January 1, 1974 are interesting to examine in light of recent Supreme Court holdings. The changes made in Ohio's obscenity statutes over the years reflect the Supreme Court's guidelines in varying degrees. Before looking at some of these recent statutes, as well as the present one in effect today, it is necessary to review the major Supreme Court decisions which have set these guidelines.

The Unconstitutionality Of Ohio's House Bill 125: The Heartbeat Bill, Jessica L. Knopp

Akron Law Review

This Comment analyzes the constitutionality of Ohio’s controversial H.B. 125 under the Fourteenth and First Amendments to the United States Constitution in the context of current United States Supreme Court precedent. Part II outlines Ohio’s current abortion laws, describes Ohio’s role in creating anti-abortion legislation and case law, provides a context of other abortion bills occurring nationwide, and explains H.B. 125. Part III analyzes how H.B. 125 is unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment in its current form, analyzes its constitutionality if the bill was modified to be a consent-only bill, and analyzes its unconstitutionality under the Establishment Clause of the …

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

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Newsroom: Horwitz On Traffic Obstruction Bills, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Without A Pilot: Navigating The Space Between The First Amendment And State And Federal Directives Affecting Drone Journalism, Leah M. Davis

Georgia Law Review

A new player in American airspace, the drone, creates greater opportunities for news gathering. But with new opportunities, come new rules. Current legislatures, regulators and courts face the challenge of creating and enforcing a legal framework by which this new technology can be integrated into American airspace. The debate surrounding proper drone directives is influenced by competing policies of privacy, security, and First Amendment concerns. This Note surveys past and present state and federal directives on drone use, and argues for the creation of a separate set of guidelines for Press drones. Separate directives would ensure that news outlets are …

Court Of Appeals Of New York, Watson V. State Commission On Judicial Conduct, Denise Shanley

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

City Court, City Of Rochester, People V. Barton, Kerri Grzymala

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Criminal Court, New York County, People V. James, Nicole Compas

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

City Court, City Of Rochester, People V. Griswold, James Dougherty

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.