First Amendment Commons^™

Abortion On The Air: Broadcasters And Indecent Political Advertising, Milagros Rivera-Sanchez, Paul H. Gates Jr.

Federal Communications Law Journal

Section 315(a) of the Communications Act--the anti-censorship provision--allows for the presentation of candidates' unvarnished positions on issues important to the voting public. In the 1990s, ads centered around abortion caused a collision between the interests of political candidates and broadcasters. The Article reviews broadcasters' attempts to use the indecency provisions of the Communications Act to channel controversial political advertisements. The Authors conclude that airing potentially indecent political ads is unlikely to result in sanctions for broadcasters.

The Children's Hour Revisited: The Children's Television Act Of 1990, Diane Aden Hayes

Federal Communications Law Journal

The Children's Television Act of 1990 was created to reduce advertising during children's programming and increase the number of educational programs for children. But by 1993 media watchers found that violations were frequent, and that what was purported to be educational television was often little more than cartoons. This Note argues that the apparent failure of the Act stems primarily from its vague standards. To correct these problems, more explicit regulations are necessary. Because new regulations can only go so far before they invade broadcasters' First Amendment rights, broadcasters and the FCC will have to compromise to create a workable …

Feminist Jurisprudence And Free Speech Theory, Susan H. Williams

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Different Religions, Different Politics: Evaluating The Role Of Competing Religious Traditions In American Politics And Law, Daniel O. Conkle

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In addressing the role of religion in politics and law, American political theory has strongly embraced the principle of religious equality. In this article, I explain how this principle has evolved and how it has nourished the privatization of religion and the secularization of public discourse by generating the view that public evaluations of religion are inappropriate. Under this view, religion is a private good that lacks public significance. As matters merely of private taste, matters that cannot be evaluated publicly, religious positions on political issues are not to be "imposed" on other citizens.

I challenge this reading of the …

The Cable-Telco Cross-Ownership Prohibition: First Amendment Infringement Through Obsolescence, Michael G. Oxley

Federal Communications Law Journal

Since 1970, the FCC has prohibited all telephone companies from providing video programming in their local service areas. The primary rationale behind this prohibition was to promote the cable industry. Since 1984, however, the cable industry has seen tremendous growth with very little competition. New technology and market demands have now necessitated a reevaluation of the ban on cable-telco cross-ownership. The Author argues that with the changes that have occurred in the marketplace, the ban is now both an invalid prior restraint and an infringement on commercial expression and thus a violation of the First Amendment rights of telephone companies. …

The Cable Act And Municipal Ownership: A Growing First Amendment Confrontation, Carl R. Ramey

Federal Communications Law Journal

In many communities across the nation cable subscribers depend on government-owned cable television systems for their communication services. This phenomenon may have started out to be fairly insignificant, but as a result of the cable explosion, government ownership of cable systems presents a threat to free expression. Governmental overbuilding and direct competition with private cable service providers have been the subject of unsuccessful First Amendment challenges. The threat of government control of cable systems, though, is potentially dramatic and poses serious First Amendment questions. The Author concludes that private ownership should be encouraged, and public ownership should only be allowed …

The Television Violence Act Of 1990: A New Program For Government Censorship?, Julia W. Schlegel

Federal Communications Law Journal

The Television Violence Act of 1990 is designed to encourage the networks, the cable industry, and independent stations to reduce the amount of violence currently shown on television. To accomplish this goal, the Act grants a three-year antitrust exemption to the television industry so that it may meet and develop joint standards aimed at reducing the amount of violence currently shown on television. The Act's sponsor, Senator Paul Simon, emphasized that the Act simply encouraged the broadcast industry to set standards; it did not require them to do so. However, in December 1992, when the television industry had still not …

Book Review. Choosing The Dream: The Future Of Religion In American Public Life By F. M. Gedicks And R. Hendrix, Daniel O. Conkle

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Lemon Lives, Daniel O. Conkle

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This article responds to an article by Professor Michael Stokes Paulsen, entitled "Lemon Is Dead," in which Paulsen interprets the Supreme Court's decision in Lee v. Weisman to repudiate the Establishment Clause test of Lemon v. Kurtzman and to replace it with a test that limits the Clause to cases involving direct or indirect coercion. The article disputes Paulsen's interpretation of Weisman, and it also disputes his normative argument in support of the coercion approach. It contends that Lemon survives Weisman, and that Lemon's multi-faceted and context-specific approach, however vague, is preferable to a test that focuses exclusively on the …

Harm, Morality, And Feminist Religion: Canada's New -- But Not So New -- Approach To Obscenity, Daniel O. Conkle

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Does The United States Need An Establishment Clause?: God Loveth Adverbs, Daniel O. Conkle

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Content Discrimination And The First Amendment, Susan H. Williams

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Volitionalism And Religious Liberty, David C. Williams, Susan H. Williams

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The Regulation Of Speech Incident To The Sale Or Promotion Of Goods And Services: A Multifactor Approach, Charles G. Geyh

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The First Amendment And The International "Free Flow" Of Information, Fred H. Cate

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Comments On Commercial Speech, Constitutionalism, Collective Choice, Kenneth G. Dau-Schmidt

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Toward A General Theory Of The Establishment Clause, Daniel O. Conkle

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Aliens In The Marketplace Of Ideas: The Government, The Academy, And The Mccarran-Walter Act, John A. Scanlan

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

A Constitutional Right Of Access To Pretrial Documents: A Missed Opportunity In Reporters Committee For Freedom Of The Press, Daniel J. Kopp

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Review. Church-State Relationships In America By Gerald V. Bradley, Richard M. Fraher

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Celebrities And The First Amendment: Broader Protection Against The Unauthorized Publication Of Photographs, D. Scott Gurney

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

A Moment Of Silence: A Permissible Accommodation Protecting The Capacity To Form Religious Belief, Andrew Woodbridge Hall

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

A "Conservative" Judge And The First Amendment: Judicial Restraint And Freedom Of Expression, Daniel O. Conkle

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Connick V. Myers: New Restrictions On The Free Speech Rights Of Government Employees, Peter C. Mccabe Iii

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Obscene Telephone Calls: An Introduction To The Reading Of Statutes, Reed Dickerson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Members of the legal profession continually confront problems of statutory interpretation. Unfortunately, most lawyers have been inadequately trained to read and to draft statutes, resulting in poorly reasoned judicial decisions and policy choices.

In this Article, Professor Dickerson explores common problems associated with statutory interpretation. In exploring these problems, he describes the cognitive process involved in reading a statute and the large fund of tacit assumptions that condition this process. Through a case study analysis, he suggests a method of approaching problems of statutory interpretation.

Library Book Selection And The Public Schools: The Quest For The Archimedean Point, Mark G. Yudof

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Products Liability And The First Amendment: The Liability Of Publishers For Failure To Warn, Lisa A. Powell

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Reinterpreting The Religion Clauses: Constitutional Construction And Conceptions Of The Self, Susan H. Williams

Articles by Maurer Faculty

The first amendment guarantees freedom from "law[s] respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." The apparent tension between the two clauses of this provision has generated judicial confusion and scholarly disagreement. The perceived conflict between the religion clauses is the product of a particular understanding of what is most fundamental about human identity and the human situation - an understanding that derives from classical liberal political theory and that assumes a sharp division between the individual and his community. This Note proposes an alternative to the liberal conception of human identity, one that encompasses both the …

Restrictions On Public Broadcasters' Rights To Editorialize, Susan H. Williams

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Municipal Zoning Restrictions On Adult Entertainment: Young, Its Progeny, Indianapolis' Commercial Special Exceptions Ordinance,, Kenneth L. Turchi

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.