First Amendment Commons^™

An Eye For An Eye Makes A Vigilant Society, Liam C. Preyer

Capstone Showcase

Vigilantism is one of the oldest practices of mankind; for as long as there have been moral and legal laws to govern us and live by, there have been individuals who have sought justice outside these systems. Vigilantism is the response to failures in the justice system, and in the United States in particular, we have seen examples from the Western Frontier to the modern-day digital landscape. This paper will explore the nature of vigilante justice through historical, psychological, media-driven, legal, and digital lenses. We will explore how cultural narratives, media influences, government actions, and psychological motivations have shaped the …

The Dueling First Amendment Clauses: Are They In Tension, Or Do They Work Together?, James Black

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

The Establishment and Free exercise clauses of the First Amendment respectively state that Congress does not have the ability to pass a law that would either establish a national religion or prohibit the free exercise of any religion. While some legal scholars have given a more secular interpretation of the Establishment Clause, suggesting that there is no place for Christianity or any other religion in the public square or to influence American government, this is in conflict with interpretation by a substantial number of legal experts and constitutional scholars living both in and before the modern era, some of whom …

Covid-19: The Federal Government, Federalism, South Dakota, And American Indians, Jordan Janson

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

This essay assesses the roles of the federal government and its relationship with Tribal Regions and states alike. Additionally, how COVID-19 affected states and localities and how different Presidential Administrations handled and responded to the pandemic while being compared with the state of South Dakota. Assessing whether or not the federal government overstepped reveals the preparedness of states. Certain states handled COVID-19-related issues better than others, and this essay addresses how Tribal Regions in states provided Governors with extreme complexities. Finally, this essay delves into the rights and responsibilities of the federal government and the state pertaining to American Indian …

The Local Community Standard: Modernizing The Supreme Court's Obscenity Jurisprudence, Jacob S. Gordon

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

Paper presentation on the Supreme Court's outdated case law on obscenity and how it needs to be modernized to in order to combat the dissemination of inappropriate materials in the age of decentralized digital media.

Government, Big Tech, And Individual Liberty, Romaine Miller, Johnny B. Davis

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

The thesis is that the first principles of the Founding Fathers express in the Declaration give the proper guidance for dealing with the impact of high tech on individual liberty.

Health Choice Or Health Coercion? The Osha Emergency Temporary Standard Covid-19 Vaccination Mandates: Ax Or Vax, Savannah Snyder

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

No abstract provided.

Opening Remarks, Danielle Kerker Goldstein, Mary Anne Bobinski, Samantha Harrell

Randolph W. Thrower Symposium

No abstract provided.

The Constitution, Covid-19, And Civil Disobedience: Federalism In Flames And The Slippery Slope To Socialism, Savannah Snyder

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

Our Constitution has been devastatingly corrupted from its original design and vision amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Governors usurped authority in the name of crisis mitigation. Our unalienable rights have been macerated and pulverized by droves of executive orders, each delivering a calamitous blow to the integrity of the American republican framework. Socialized medicine is on the horizon as our compliance is coerced. Conventional civil disobedience has been regulatorily revoked. We have succumbed to the decrees of depraved men who maintain that education, religious expression, and pursuits of happiness can be invalidated by whatever transgressions the state deems necessary. For the …

Executive Authority And Free Speech: An Analysis On The Restraints Of Presidential Power, Leta Lohrmeyer

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

This analysis examines the implications of social media platforms in connection to free speech and presidential power. Specifically, this study will be drawing on a precedent legal case, Knight First Amendment Inst. v. Trump (2019) along with other cases that are relevant to this paper. This research is contributing to the literature by exploring the topic of how developing technology is influencing political communication. Results support the idea that the definition of public forum needs to be expanded and updated to include social media. Theoretical consequences for the role of social media in connection to executive authority and First Amendment …

The "High" Life: The Regulation, Competitive Advantage, And Ethical Considerations Of Marijuana Advertising, Casey Rockwell, Madeline Burke

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Dark Arts And Other Wicked Ideas: Harry Potter, Banned Books And Intellectual Freedom, Michele Mcdaniel, Ryan Mcdaniel

Twenty Years of Harry Potter: Celebrating a Phenomenon

Come explore intellectual freedom during Banned Books Week (Sept. 24-30) with this enchanted perspective inspired by Harry Potter.

Identifying certain ideas as dangerous - and therefore banned or otherwise restricted - is a perennial phenomenon, manifesting throughout every time and culture. When reading the Harry Potter series, one encounters the Restricted Section in the Hogwarts Library, where the reader is informed that books about the Dark Arts and how to defend oneself against them are found. However, only those sufficiently matured and prepared may read the restricted materials, and then only under the close supervision and guidance of a wiser …

Ag-Gag Laws, Lies, And The First Amendment, Justin Marceau

Distinguished Speaker Series

In this talk, Professor Marceau will discuss the intersection of free speech and lies in constitutional doctrine. “Ag-gag” laws criminalize actions that include secret filming by whistleblowers of animal abuses on factory farms. Using the proliferation of ag-gag laws as an example, Professor Marceau will identify and discuss investigative deceptions as a category of high-value lies that ought to receive rigorous free speech protection because of their instrumental value to securing and disseminating information essential to a well-functioning democracy. He will also identify, more generally, the types of limits that may be imposed on lying consistent with the First Amendment

Game Over: Violent Video Games And Juvenile Crimes, Randy Beck, Cheryl Olson, Gerry Weber, Dan Islett

Working in the Public Interest Conferences

Discussion of possible relationship between video games and childhood violence. Includes considerations of First-Amendment rights of manufacturers and implications of Schwarzenegger v. Entertainment Merchants Association.

Aggressive Newsgathering And The First Amendment, Erwin Chemerinsky, Robert Nagel, Robert O'Neil, Diane Zimmerman

University of Richmond Law Review Symposium

The University of Richmond School of Law sponsored the "Aggressive Newsgathering and the First Amendment." The symposium covered such topics as surreptitious newsgathering techniques, the constitutionality of recent proposed legislation regarding paparazzi, and the question of the appropriate dividing line, if any, between public and private life. The symposium featured a mix of scholars, journalist, lawyers, judges, and public figures, who discussed these issues in three sessions. Scholarly papers generated by the symposium were published in 33 U. Rich. L. Rev. 1143 (1999). The authors of those papers also participated in the symposium proceedings and they were:

Professor Erin Chemerinsky, …

Conference Program

Group Defamation & Freedom of Speech: The Relationship Between Language and Violence (1988)

No abstract provided.