First Amendment Commons^™

Criminal Procedure And The Racial Profiling Issue For Professor Gates And Sergeant Crowley, L. Darnell Weeden

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Reflections On Breach Of Confidence From The U.S. Experience, Brian C. Murchison

Scholarly Articles

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First Amendment Martyr, First Amendment Opportunist: Commentary On Larry Flynt's Role In The Free Speech Debate, Rodney A. Smolla

Scholarly Articles

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Speech Regulation: Why An Injunction Should Be Permissible Under Workplace Discrimination But Is Problematic Under Defamation, Sarah Shyr

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Theology In Public Reason And Legal Discourse: A Case For The Preferential Option For The Poor, Russell Powell

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Words "Which By Their Very Utterance Inflict Injury": Evolving Treatment Of Inherently Dangerous Speech In Free Speech Law And Theory, Rodney A. Smolla

Scholarly Articles

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The First Amendment, Journalists, And Sources: A Curious Study In "Reverse Federalism", Rodney A. Smolla

Scholarly Articles

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The Fact-Conjecture Framework In U.S. Libel Law: Four Problems, Brian C. Murchison

Scholarly Articles

A requirement of U.S. defamation law is that an actionable statement be factual in nature, but courts since Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co., 497 U.S. 1 (1990), have had considerable difficulty in distinguishing factual from non-factual statements and in articulating the value of non-factual public discourse in all its diversity. This Article reviews four topics - intent, context, conjecture, and hyperbole - that have been particularly troublesome to courts. It argues for a fresh appraisal of Justice Brennan's dissenting opinion in Milkovich and brings into the conversation the works of several current political theorists on the contributions of passionate political …

The Van Orden And Mccreary County Cases: Closing The Gaps Remaining Between The Established Lines Of Ten Commandments Jurisprudence, Matthew J. Morrison

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Lawyer Advertising And The Dignity Of The Profession, Rodney A. Smolla

Scholarly Articles

None available.

The Cabining Of Rosenberger: Locke V. Davey And The Broad Nondiscrimination Principle That Never Was, Alan M. Trammell

Scholarly Articles

In Rosenberger (1995), the Supreme Court decided that the University of Virginia could not exclude religious organizations from an activities fund that subsidized student organizations. Nine years later, the Court in Locke v. Davey held that Washington could exclude students of devotional theology from a generally available scholarship program; there was, in the Court’s words, “play in the joints” between what the Establishment Clause forbids and what the Free Exercise Clause requires. The cases seemed to contradict one another.

This Note explores whether Rosenberger announced a broad principle of nondiscrimination with respect to religion and whether Davey reneged on that …

Revisiting The American Action For Public Disclosure Of Facts, In New Dimensions In Privacy Law: International And Comparative Perspectives (Andrew T. Kenyon & Megan Richardson Eds., 2006), Brian C. Murchison

Books and Chapters

Although the public disclosure tort has had an unpromising past, it appeals to what Anthony Lewis suggests is a sense of basic fairness to ‘those who have not sought power’ but have become illustrations of public issues. The tort’s weakness may be a function of cultural indifference or constitutional qualms, although the most likely explanation is institutional: until recently, the Supreme Court offered no illumination of a core interest. Libel law had reserved the obvious candidate, dignity, for civic contexts. Now, with the court’s decision in Bartnicki and the insights of a number of contemporary thinkers, it may be time …

Content And Context: The Contributions Of William Van Alstyne To First Amendment Interpretation, Rodney A. Smolla

Scholarly Articles

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Free The Fortune 500! The Debate Over Corporate Speech And The First Amendment, Rodney A. Smolla

Scholarly Articles

Examines the lessons to be learned in the U.S. Supreme Court landmark free speech case in "Nike Inc. v. Kasky".

Terrorism And The Bill Of Rights, Rodney A. Smolla

Scholarly Articles

In this article, Professor Smolla examines the right to free speech in the context of Black v. Commonwealth, a case which dealt with a Virginia law that banned cross-burning. While the legal doctrines argued in the Black case were certainly important then, they took on a whole new importance in light of the attacks on September 11, 2001. Professor Smolla discusses whether the terrorist attacks should affect the freedoms of speech and expression in America, concluding that, while horrific and life-changing, the attack on America should not alter our First Amendment rights.

The Puffery Of Lawyers, Rodney A. Smolla

Scholarly Articles

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The First Amendment And The New Civil Liability, Rodney A. Smolla

Scholarly Articles

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From Hit Man To Encyclopedia Of Jihad: How To Distinguish Freedom Of Speech From Terrorist Training, Rodney A. Smolla

Scholarly Articles

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Information As Contraband: The First Amendment And Liability For Trafficking In Speech, Rodney A. Smolla

Scholarly Articles

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What Passes For Policy And Proof In First Amendment Litigation?, Rodney A. Smolla

Scholarly Articles

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Should The Brandenburg V. Ohio Incitement Test Apply In Media Violence Cases?, Rodney A. Smolla

Scholarly Articles

None available.

Qualified Intimacy, Celebrity, And The Case For A Newsgathering Privilege, Rodney A. Smolla

Scholarly Articles

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The Constitutionality Of Mandatory Public School Service Programs, Rodney A. Smolla

Scholarly Articles

Part of a special issue on amateurs in public service and their involvement in volunteering, service-learning, and community service. An analysis of the constitutionality of mandatory public school community service programs is presented. The legality of such programs is examined with reference to conditions, coercion, and the right-privilege distinction; community service as involuntary servitude; the substantive due process doctrine; conscientious objection based on religion or ideology; and organizational inclusion and exclusion. It is acknowledged that community service programs are not value-neutral, in that they obviously reflect the community's philosophical and cultural judgments regarding the mission and function of public schools. …

Will Tabloid Journalism Ruin The First Amendment For The Rest Of Us?, Rodney A. Smolla

Scholarly Articles

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Speech And The Self-Realization Value, Brian C. Murchison

Scholarly Articles

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Que, Ya No Hablan Ingles En Este Pais?: A Look At The Constitutionality Of English Only Provisions Under The Free Speech Clause Of The First Amendment, John J. Louizos

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Interpretation And Interdependence: How Judges Use The Avoidance Canon In Separation Of Powers Cases, Brian C. Murchison

Scholarly Articles

None available.

Sullivan's Paradox: The Emergence Of Judicial Standards Of Journalism, Brian C. Murchison

Scholarly Articles

In this article, the authors examine the development of libel law in America since the Supreme Court's watershed decision in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan and suggest that Sullivan affords members of the press less protection than many think. Sullivan's actual malice standard invites judges to create norms of acceptable journalistic conduct for news gathering, which members of the press and their lawyers use as maps to navigate around libel liability. The authors examine a large number of these judicial decisions and note the types of journalistic conduct at issue and what conduct the courts view positively. The authors …

Information, Imagery, And The First Amendment: A Case For Expensive Protection Of Commercial Speech, Rodney A. Smolla

Scholarly Articles

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Affirmative Action In The Marketplace Of Ideas, Rodney A. Smolla

Scholarly Articles

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