First Amendment Commons^™

First Amendment, Second Fiddle? Free Speech In New Hampshire‘S Constitution, Adam Rick

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] “A car dealer in Concord, New Hampshire recently challenged the city zoning board‘s denial of its application to replace its existing readerboard (with manually changeable letters) with an electronic sign. The dealer argued that the city‘s zoning ordinance, prohibiting “[s]igns which move or create an illusion of movement except those parts which solely indicate date, time, or temperature,” constituted an unconstitutional restriction on free speech under the First Amendment. The trial court agreed, but the New Hampshire Supreme Court reversed, applying the Central Hudson test and finding that the ordinance reached no “broader than necessary to meet and advance …

Conditions On Taking The Initiative: The First Amendment Implications Of Subject Matter Restrictions On Ballot Initiatives, Anna Skiba-Crafts

Michigan Law Review

Nearly half of U.S. states offer a ballot initiative process that citizens may use to pass legislation or constitutional amendments by a popular vote. Some states, however, impose substantive restrictions on the types of initiatives citizens may submit to the ballot for a vote-precluding, for example, initiatives lowering drug penalties or initiatives related to religion. Circuit courts are split on whether and how such restrictions implicate the First Amendment. This Note argues that-rather than limiting "expressive conduct" protected only minimally by the First Amendment, or limiting pure conduct that does not garner any First Amendment protectionsubject matter restrictions on ballot …

The Unconstitutionality, Ineffectiveness, And Alternatives Of Gang Injunctions, Thomas A. Myers

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

Gang violence across America puts in jeopardy the peace and tranquility of neighborhoods. Cities are challenged to keep their communities safe from gang violence. One common way in which cities attempt to combat violent gang activity is by using gang injunctions. Gang injunctions are court orders that prohibit gang members from conducting already-illegal activities such as vandalism, loitering, and use or possession of illegal drugs or weapons within a defined area. These injunctions, however, also prohibit otherwise legal activity such as associating with others within the restricted area of the injunction, using words or hand gestures, and wearing certain clothing. …

State Government—The Arkansas Freedom Of Information Act—Public Or Private Record: A Simple Distinction Threatens The Future Of Open Government In Arkansas, Pulaski County V. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc., 371 Ark. 214, 264 S.W.3d 465 (Ark. Oct. 4, 2007)., Geoffrey D. Neal

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Why Monuments Are Government Speech: The Hard Case Of Pleasant Grove City V. Summun, 58 Cath. U. L. Rev. 7 (2008), Mary Jean Dolan

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Measure Of Government Speech: Identifying Expression's Source, Helen Norton

Publications

States and other governmental bodies increasingly invoke the government speech defense to First Amendment challenges by private parties who seek to alter or join what the government contends is its own expression. These disputes involve competing claims to the same speech: a private party maintains that a certain means of expression reflects (or should be allowed to reflect) her own views, while a public entity claims that same speech as its own, along with the ability to control its content.

In suggesting a framework for approaching these problems, this Article starts by examining the theoretical and practical justifications for insulating …

But I Thought This Was Sin City!: Nevada's Restrictions On Advertisements For Legal Brothel Services, Denise S. Balboni

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Hemlock In The Marketplace: How Freedom Of The Press For College Newspapers Poisons The First Amendment, 40 J. Marshall L. Rev. 1365 (2007), Michael Hopkins

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Legalized Gaming And Political Contributions: When The Diceman Cometh, Will Corruption Goeth?, 40 J. Marshall L. Rev. 1089 (2007), Bonny Bumiller

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Buying White Beauty, Imani Perry

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article argues that the global phenomenon of skin-bleaching is a manifestation of structural inequality rooted in race, poverty, and globalization. It critiques how the marketing and use of skin-whitening products perpetuate racial hierarchies and reflects broader societal power dynamics, emphasizing the need for legal and regulatory responses to address the health and social implications of this practice.

Religious Liberty And The Law, Stephen Wermiel

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Myths About The Ninth Circuit, Stephen Wermiel

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Begging Underground? The Constitutionality Of Regulations Banning Panhandling In The New York City Subway System, Jordana Schreiber

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Balancing A Burning Cross: The Court And Virginia V. Black, 38 J. Marshall L. Rev. 1205 (2005), Jason A. Abel

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

The "Blaine" Debate: Must States Fund Religious Schools?, Laura S. Underkuffler

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

In Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, the United States Supreme Court held-by a vote of 5 to 4-that the funding of religious schools with taxpayer money through voucher programs does not violate the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution. Emboldened by this success, voucher proponents now attack state constitutional provisions (often called "Blaine Amendments") that prohibit taxpayer funding of religious schools. These state provisions, which may stand in the way of religious-school voucher programs, are attacked as violative of the federal Constitution, rooted in anti-religious bias, or otherwise illegal or unwise.

It is my view that efforts to force states …

How To Apply The Religious Freedom Restoration Act To Federal Law Without Violating The Constitution, Gregory P. Magarian

Michigan Law Review

Learned commentators have called the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 ("RFRA" or "the Act") "perhaps the most unconstitutional statute in the history of the nation" and "the most egregious violation of the separation of powers doctrine in American constitutional history." In the 1997 case of City of Boerne v. Flores, the Supreme Court struck down the Act in its applications to state and local governments, declaring that "RFRA contradicts vital principles necessary to maintain separation of powers and the federal balance." The Act's applications to federal law, however, survived Boerne, which means that plaintiffs with religious freedom claims against …

The United Mall Of America: Free Speech, State Constitutions, And The Growing Fortress Of Private Property, Jennifer Niles Coffin

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Scholars have called the shopping mall the modern replacement for the traditional town square, a claim that is supported by both public investment in infrastructure through municipal and state bond issues and by the presence of public services and events in many malls. Mall owners and tenants have exploited this quasi public character by inviting government agencies to become tenants in the malls ("City Hall at the Mall") despite claiming that malls are private property where constitutionally protected freedoms do not apply. After an initial and shortlived ruling that mall visitors do indeed have free speech rights, the Supreme Court …

Constitutional Law: Vouchers, Sectarian Schools, And Constitutional Uncertainty: Choices For The Unites States Supreme Court And The States, Catharine V. Ewing

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Two Degrees Of Speech Protection: Free Speech Through The Prism Of Agricultural Disparagement Laws, Howard M. Wasserman

Faculty Publications

In the wake of a 1989 national television broadcast reporting the alleged cancer risk of a chemical applied to apples on trees, many states passed agricultural product disparagement (APD) statutes. These statutes grant civil causes of action to the growers and sellers of perishable food products, against anyone who speaks negatively or disparagingly, without basis in scientific evidence, about the product's safety. In this Article, Howard M Wasserman explores the interplay between the APD statutes and the First Amendment. First, Mr. Wasserman discusses the three categories of restrictions on the freedom of speech, focusing primarily on private civil tort actions …

Intermediate Questions Of Religious Exemptions - A Research Agenda With Test Suites, Eugene Volokh

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Qualities Of Completeness: More? Or Less?, Mark R. Killenbeck

Michigan Law Review

On January 14, 1983, Chief Judge W. Brevard Hand announced what he knew would be widely regarded as a rather startling proposition. Believing that "[t]he first amendment in large part was a guarantee to the states which insured that the states would be able to continue whatever church-state relationship existed in 1791," Judge Hand held that the people of Alabama were perfectly free to "establish[] a religion," in this instance by allowing public school teachers to begin the school day with prayer. The ruling reversed an earlier decision in the same case, which characterized the statutory provision at issue as …

Zoning Restrictions On Location Of Adult Businesses, Alan C. Weinstein

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

This year's report concentrates on recent legal developments concerning regulation of the location of "adult entertainment businesses." Such regulations raise serious constitutional issues because the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of expression extends to non-obscene sexually oriented media. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, has established that local government may single out adult businesses for special regulatory treatment in the form of locational restrictions if the local government can show a substantial public interest in regulating such businesses unrelated to the suppression of speech and if the regulations allow for "reasonable alternative avenues of communication," which essentially translates into a reasonable …

State Laws Criminalizing Female Circumcision: A Violation Of The Equal Protection Clause Of The Fourteenth Amendment, 32 J. Marshall L. Rev. 353 (1999), Shea Lita Bond

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Yet Another Fox In The Hen House: Government Protection Of Artistic Expression Within Privately Owned Public Spaces, David Rudenstine

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Establishment Of Religion, Court Of Appeals: Park Slope Jewish Center V. Congregation B'Nai Jacob

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Establishment Of Religion, Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department: Robbins V. Bright

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Free Speech, Court Of Appeals: People V. Tichenor

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Free Speech, Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department: Urbach V. Farrell

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Political Association, Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department: Kalkstein V. Dinapoli

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Free Speech, Court Of Appeals: Rogers V. New York City Transit Authority

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.