First Amendment Commons^™

Incorrect Speech, Incorrect Hearing: A Problem Of Postmodern Legal Education, Paul D. Carrington

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Begging The Court's Pardon: Justice Denied For The Poorest Of The Poor, Daniel M. Cohen

St. Thomas Law Review

Astonishing as it may seem, if Benjamin Franklin were alive today, and he sought to collect alms for the poor on Fort Lauderdale Beach, he would, by force of law, find himself summarily expelled from the area. If Mr. Franklin then returned, seeking thus to heed the call of his conscience to help the downtrodden and oppressed, the great statesman and Founding Father of the United States would find himself placed under arrest. For the City of Fort Lauderdale, with the imprimatur of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeal, has deemed it Right and Good that soliciting a passerby for …

The "Ultimate Question": A Limited Argument For Trafficking In Stolen Speech, Matthew J. Coleman

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Threats, Free Speech, And The Jurisprudence Of The Federal Criminal Law, G. Robert Blakey, Brian J. Murray

Journal Articles

In these materials, we set out a road map for the task of reforming the jurisprudence of threats and an articulation of its rationale under the First Amendment. In addition, we examine the basic jurisprudence of the federal criminal law, in particular, its traditional roots in notions of individual responsibility based on personal conduct and state of mind. In Part I, we analyze the district court and the Ninth Circuit opinions in the American Coalition litigation. In Part II, we trace the traditional theory and practice of free speech under the First Amendment, rooted in the history and various rationales …

Rewriting Near V. Minnesota: Creating A Complete Definition Of Prior Restraint, Michael I. Meyerson

All Faculty Scholarship

The decision in Near v. Minnesota, while establishing the prior restraint doctrine as a critical element for First Amendment analysis, failed to give a definition of prior restraint. The result has been inconsistent and unpredictable application of the doctrine as well as diminished protection of free expression. This article takes the next critical step in the journey begun by Near v. Minnesota; it attempts to create a comprehensive definition of prior restraint using the principles of separation of powers. Because all three branches can create 'prior restraints,' the prevention of unconstitutional restraints will necessitate different safeguards depending on which branch …

The Neglected History Of The Prior Restraint Doctrine: Rediscovering The Link Between The First Amendment And The Separation Of Powers, Michael I. Meyerson

All Faculty Scholarship

The prior restraint doctrine, once so fundamental to Constitutional Jurisprudence, has lost much of its effectiveness over the years. Nevertheless, prior restraint doctrine is crucial to preserving the line between protected and unprotected speech. One of the fundamental problems that contribute to the current ineffectiveness of prior restraint doctrine is that there exists no comprehensive definition of "prior restraint". This article chronicles the historical roots of prior restraint in order to arrive at a generally accepted legal definition. Through the course of this historical journey, the article yields a heretofore unexplored aspect of prior restraint doctrine, namely that prior restraint …

Constitutional Law: State Campaign Contribution Limits: Nixon V. Shrink Missouri Government Pac: An Abridgment Of Freedom In The Name Of Democracy, Richard J. Baker

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Muzzling Death Row Inmates: Applying The First Amendment To Regulations That Restrict A Condemned Prisoner's Last Words, Kevin F. O'Neill

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

This Article asserts that the privilege to deliver a last dying speech— uttered in the presence of, and made audible to, the assembled witnesses in the moments just before one's execution—is a First Amendment right, and that prison policies departing from its traditional exercise are unconstitutional. After canvassing the state prison policies that govern last words, this Article will recount the long historical tradition surrounding their utterance—a history that reveals the extraordinary degree to which Anglo-American governments have honored the privilege.Next, this Article will draw a parallel between the right to utter one's last words and the well-established right of …

First Amendment Protects Crude Protest Of Police Action, Martin A. Schwartz

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Hate In Cyberspace: Regulating Hate Speech On The Internet, Alexander Tsesis

San Diego Law Review

The speed at which information can be spread throughout the United States and other countries has been greatly enhanced by the Internet. This computer-driven, technological medium consists of various modes of transmission, including discussion groups, interactive pages, and mail services. A wide variety of pictorial, auditory, and written information is available on the Internet. Persons with disparate goals can access and affect large audiences through it. Both those seeking social improvement and those promoting racist violence can now increase the magnitude, diversity, and location of their audiences. Persons advancing

democratic ideals and those inclined to exclusionary elitism can use e- …

Constitutional Law: United States V. Viefhaus And The Demise Of The Libertarian Philosophy In Free Speech Jurisprudence, Stephanie D. Wade

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Free Speech And The Limits Of Legislative Discretion: The Example Of Specialty License Plates, Leslie Gielow Jacobs

McGeorge School of Law Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Restricting Hate Speech Against Private Figures: Lessons In Power-Based Censorship From Defamation Law, Victor C. Romero

Faculty Scholarship

This article examines the debate between those who favor greater protection for minorities vulnerable to hate speech and First Amendment absolutists who are skeptical of any burdens on pure speech. The author also provides another perspective on the debate by highlighting the "public/private figure" distinction as an area within First Amendment law that acknowledges differences in power, a construct anti-hate speech advocates should use to further their cause. Specifically, the author places the "public/private figure" division in a theoretical and historical context and then provides empirical support for the thesis that whites enjoy a more prominent societal role and greater …

Proactive Legislation And The First Amendment, Stuart Minor Benjamin

Michigan Law Review

It is a commonplace that the world is changing rapidly, with whole sectors of the economy being transformed. New forms of communication, like the World Wide Web, e-mail, and satellite television, have risen from obscurity to ubiquity in less than a decade. The speed of these changes has led some to express concern about the ability of governments to respond. The fear is that governments cannot keep up with developments as they occur and thus get hopelessly behind. The solution, according to some, is for the government to act proactively - before a harm has arisen, so that the government …

The Link Between Student Activity Fees And Campaign Finance Regulations, Leslie Gielow Jacobs

McGeorge School of Law Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

An Accelerated History Of Expressive Freedom, Kevin F. O'Neill

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

My purpose in writing this article is to examine the growth of Anglo-American speech rights over the past millennium. Since the best measure of expressive freedom is the freedom to criticize one's government, I will focus on the regulation of seditious speech in an accelerated tour of history, from the printing press to the present day.

A First Amendment Compass: Navigating The Speech Clause With A Five-Step Analytical Framework, Kevin F. O'Neill

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

This Article is designed to serve as a First Amendment “compass,” explaining the Speech Clause while offering a systematic method for analyzing any claim asserted under it. The need for this Article stems from the fact that First Amendment law is more than ever a labyrinth. For students, lawyers, and judges alike, it is difficult even to identify--much less to distinguish and apply-- the various strands of applicable precedent. This is because the Supreme Court has developed a dense mass of overlapping doctrines: drawing distinctions between content-based1 and content-neutral restrictions; drawing further distinctions between fully-protected and “low-level” categories of expression; …

Life On Campus Really Ain't So Bad, Avern Cohn

Michigan Law Review

The Shadow University is a highly tendentious account of Alan Charles Kors and Harvey A. Silverglate's view of academic and student life in America's colleges and universities over the last twenty years. Kors and Silverglate see these colleges and universities turning from promoting personal and academic freedom to suppressing open expression and denying basic liberties to students and faculty alike. To make their point, they have scoured college and university campuses from coast to coast to find incidents involving student speech code violations, as well as student and faculty discipline and misbehavior proceedings. They also examine multicultural and diversity programs …

Zoning Speech On The Internet: A Legal And Technical Model, Lawrence Lessig, Paul Resnick

Michigan Law Review

Speech, it is said, divides into three sorts - (1) speech that everyone has a right to (political speech, speech about public affairs); (2) speech that no one has a right to (obscene speech, child porn); and (3) speech that some have a right to but others do not (in the United States, Ginsberg speech, or speech that is "harmful to minors," to which adults have a right but kids do not). Speech-protective regimes, on this view, are those where category (1) speech predominates; speech-repressive regimes are those where categories (2) and (3) prevail. This divide has meaning for speech …

Disentangling The Law Of Public Protest, Kevin F. O'Neill

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

The purpose of this Article is to alleviate the confusion that so frequently surrounds the law of public protest. Much of that confusion can be avoided, when analyzing a given case, by zeroing in on who is regulating the speech in question. There are four regulatory players, who act in four distinct settings: restrictions enacted by legislative bodies, the issuance of permits and fees by government administrators, speech-restrictive injunctions imposed by the judiciary, and the influence of police as a regulatory presence on the street. Discrete lines of precedent attend each of these players. Legislators and judges, for example, are …

Pledges, Parades, And Mandatory Payments, Leslie Gielow Jacobs

McGeorge School of Law Scholarly Articles

This Article examines the Supreme Court's treatment of compelled expression cases. It sets forth the speech restraint framework by describing the crucial determinations guiding judicial analysis. It then explains the current results, reasoning, and incoherence of the compelled expression cases. This Article isolates and evaluates the variables that the Court claims are significant to compelled expression analysis. It then adjusts the variables according to the free speech clause values evident in speech restraint analysis to create a coherent doctrine of compelled expression. This doctrine both places past cases within a consistent framework and provides a structure for evaluating future compelled …

Sovereign Indignity? Values, Borders And The Internet: A Case Study, Eric Easton

All Faculty Scholarship

This article focuses on the publication ban issued by a Canadian court in a notorious murder trial, and the popular reaction to the publication ban, as a case study of the new global communications environment. Part I reconstructs the factual circumstances that provoked the ban, as well as the responses of the media, the legal establishment, and the public. Part II examines the ban itself, the constitutional challenge mounted by the media, and the landmark Dagenais decision. Part III reflects on the meaning of the entire episode for law, journalism, and national sovereignty.

The Dagenais decision demonstrates the continued independence …

Second Department Tillman V. Distribution Systems Of America

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Fourth Department Time Square Books, Inc., V. City Of Rochester

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Reinvigorating Autonomy: Freedom And Responsibility In The Supreme Court's First Amendment Jurisprudence, Christina E. Wells

Faculty Publications

Part I of this Article explores the conception of autonomy that scholars have generally attributed to the Court and discusses problems with that conception. Part II sets forth an alternative, Kantian conception of autonomy and discusses its implications for a system of laws regulating free expression. Part III analyzes the Court's free speech jurisprudence and its autonomy rationale. It specifically examines both the Court's distinction between content-based and content-neutral regulations of speech and its approach to low-value speech, demonstrating that they reflect a Kantian notion of autonomy. Finally, Part IV discusses the implications of Kantian autonomy for hate speech regulation, …

Where Do We Draw The Line Between Harassment And Free Speech?: An Analysis Of Hunter Harassment Law, Katherine Hessler

Animal Law Review

Ms. Hessler examines the constitutionality of the federal hunter harassment statute and concludes that protests of hunting events should be protected under the First Amendment.

The First Amendment In The Supreme Court: The Future Lies Ahead, Dean Joel M. Gora

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Reading Holmes Through The Lens Of Schauer: The Abrams Dissent, Vincent A. Blasi

Faculty Scholarship

Even the best scholars rarely persuade. Mostly, they illuminate. They make us more discerning readers and interlocutors.

Here I want to illustrate how Frederick Schauer's work on the law of free speech can help us to read what may be the single most influential judicial opinion ever written on that subject, Justice Holmes's famous dissent in Abrams v. United States. So far as I am aware, Schauer has not produced anything like a line-by-line parsing of the Holmes opinion. I claim nevertheless that a reader familiar with Schauer's ideas is far better prepared on that account to understand what Holmes …

A More Sensible Approach To Regulating Independent Expenditures: Defending The Constitutionality Of The Fed's New Express Advocacy Standard, Michael D. Leffel

Michigan Law Review

Campaign finance reformers argue that the "unholy alliance of private money and public elections" has created "a crisis of confidence in our elected officials." The now-deceased campaign reform advocate Philip M. Stem summed up the role of money in campaigns this way: "[M]oney-power has replaced people-power as the driving force in American politics and the determinant of electoral victory." One form of "money-power" in elections that received a great deal of attention in the last election cycle was "independent expenditures." Independent expenditures are funds spent by interested individuals or groups - usually in the form of television or radio advertisements …

Copyright And Free Speech Rights, L. Ray Patterson, Stanley F. Birch, Jr.

Scholarly Works

By letter of 1 March 1993, the Copyright Compliance Office of the Association of American Publishers (AAP) informed a copyshop that it had “without prior permission, made multiple copies of excerpts of copyrighted works for distribution to students in course anthologies.” Stating that this copying was an infringement of copyright, the letter requested the copyshop to sign an enclosed agreement stating it would not commit such acts again and to pay a penalty of “$2,500 to help defray the costs of the AAP's copyright enforcement program in this matter and to impress on your business the need to operate in …