First Amendment Commons^™

The First Freedom. By Bryce W. Rucker, Francis Robinson, Jr.

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Interpretations Of The First Amendment, Abner S. Greene

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Interpretations of the First Amendment by

Congressional Power And Free Speech: Levy’S Legacy Revisited, William W. Van Alstyne

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Trial Of John Peter Zenger, Michael E. Tigar

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

"Where Have You Gone, Walter Cronkite?" The First Amendment And The End Of Innocence, Rodney A. Smolla

Scholarly Articles

None available.

The Press And The Public Interest: An Essay On The Relationship Between Social Behavior And The Language Of First Amendment Theory, Lee C. Bollinger

Michigan Law Review

I would like to explore in this essay one aspect of the contemporary American debate over the theory of freedom of speech and press. The subject I want to address is this: whether the principle of freedom of speech and press should be viewed as protecting some personal or individual interest in speaking and writing or whether it should be seen as fostering a collective or public interest. Sometimes this issue is stated as being whether the first amendment protects a "right to speak" or a "right to hear," though in general the problem seems to be whether we should …

On Complaining About The Burger Court, Robert F. Nagel

Publications

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law—First Amendment Right Of Access To Criminal Trials, C. Lyn Peeples

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

The First Amendment Reconsidered: New Perspectives On The Meaning Of Freedom Of Speech And Press, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Review of The First Amendment Reconsidered: New Perspectives on the Meaning of Freedom of Speech and Press edited by Bill F. Chamberlin and Charlene J. Brown

The Origins Of Freedom Of Speech And Press, David S. Bogen

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Ambush Interview: A False Light Invasion Of Privacy, Kevin F. O'Neill

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

The ''ambush" interview is a controversial investigative reporting technique permeating both national and local television news programming. In the typical ambush interview, a reporter and his news crew intercept an unsuspecting newsworthy subject on the street and bombard him with incriminating accusations ostensibly framed as questions. The ambush interviewee inevitably appears guilty before the viewing audience. This is due to a variety of forces, including the subject's severe credibility disadvantage and the accusatory nature of the reporter's questions. This Note applies a false light invasion of privacy analysis to the ambush technique and examines the nexus between the technique and …

Havalunch V. Mazza--The Scrambling Of Constitutional And Common Law Defamation Analysis In West Virginia, W. Martin Harrell

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Trustees Of Self-Interest?, Pnina Lahav

Faculty Scholarship

Unconventional approaches to frequently addressed issues can be particularly illuminating, and John Lofton's discussion of the press and the first amendment takes a decidedly unconventional tack. Rather than focusing on the theme of governmental suppression of speech, Lofton attempts to highlight another angle: the reaction of the press to both political dissent and the official suppression of that dissent from the colonial period to the present day. His purpose, he notes, is "to examine how the American press has performed when confronted with the application of the amendment to practical events."

The Public, The Media And The Criminal Defendant: Access To Courtrooms Prevails Over Fears Of Prejudicial Publicity, W. Martine Harrell

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law - First Amendment - Defamation - Public Figures - Discovery - Editorial Process - Privilege, Jerry V. Haines

Duquesne Law Review

The United States Supreme Court has held that there is no first amendment privilege against discovery into the editorial process of a media defendant in a defamation action by a public figure.

Herbert v. Lando, 441 U.S. 153 (1979)

The First Amendment And The Free Press: A Comment On Some New Trends And Some Old Theories, William W. Van Alstyne

Faculty Scholarship

Responding to the trend of media rights being subjugated through the legal process, this article examines Justice Stewart's suggestion that the media should be treated with extra deference in First Amendment cases. This examination looks at the sufficiency of the press's claim of judicial harshness, whether the press should be treated differently than other speakers, and also compares press freedom in foreign nations.

Regulation Of Indecency In Political Broadcasting, Jonathan Golomb

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The article considers both the constitutional and statutory aspects of the regulation of indecency in political broadcasting. The discussion is limited to considering "indecency," a term excluding obscenity or incitement to violence, because the government's power to regulate these types of speech is well established. Indecent speech would be protected if used in the print media, since it does not fall within the established First Amendment exceptions. The basic constitutional question, therefore, is whether the broadcast media are inherently different from the print media, so as to justify different treatment of indecent political speech. This article will contend that they …

First Amendment Interest Balancing-Behind Bars?, Teresa L. Mussetto

University of Miami Law Review

This casenote examines the recent decision of Houchins v. KQED; Inc., in which the Supreme Court of the United States narrowly construed the right of access afforded the news media in their coverage of penal facilities. The analysis focuses upon the first amendment methodology utilized by the Court in its decisionmaking process. The author concludes with a critical assessment of the Court's departure from accurate interest balancing technique.

Search Warrants In Newsrooms: Some Aspects Of The Impact Of Zurcher V. The Stanford Daily, Dwight L. Teeter Jr.

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Free Press-Fair Trial: Restrictive Orders After Nebraska Press, Doug Rendleman

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Media Reporting And Privacy Claims--Decline In Constitutional Protection For The Press, Gerald G. Ashdown

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Prior Restraints On Freedom Of Expression By Defendants And Defense Attorneys: Ratio Decidendi V. Obiter Dictum, Monroe H. Freedman, Janet Starwood

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

Nebraska Press Association v. Stuart presents the Supreme Court's most strenuous disapproval of prior restraints on the press to date. Despite its concern for the first amendment rights of the press, however, the Court showed no such solicitude for the free speech rights of defendants and their attorneys. Instead, the two major opinions in Nebraska Press Association both contain unsupported, conclusory language suggesting that the special protection afforded the press might somehow be inapplicable to restraints against defendants and defense attorneys. The implication is that in order to secure their rights to fair trials defendants may have to sacrifice their …

Constitutional Law--Libel And Slander--Defamation Of Political Candidates, David John Romano

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Freedom Of The Press And Public Access: Toward A Theory Of Partial Regulation Of The Mass Media, Lee C. Bollinger Jr.

Michigan Law Review

The purpose of this article is to examine critically these decisions and to explore whether there is any rational basis for limiting to one sector of the media the legislature's power to impose access regulation. The article takes the position that the Court has pursued the right path for the wrong reasons. There is a powerful rationality underlying the current decision to restrict regulatory authority to broadcasting, but it is not, as is commonly supposed, that broadcasting is somehow different in principle from the print media and that it therefore is not deserving of equivalent first amendment treatment. As will …

Freedom Of The Press And Public Access: Toward A Theory Of Partial Regulation Of The Mass Media, Lee C. Bollinger

Faculty Scholarship

During the past half century there have existed in this country two opposing constitutional traditions regarding the press. On the one hand, the Supreme Court has accorded the print media virtually complete constitutional protection from attempts by government to impose affirmative controls such as access regulation. On the other hand, the Court has held affirmative regulation of the broadcast media to be constitutionally permissible, and has even suggested that it may be constitutionally compelled. In interpreting the first amendment, the Court in one context has insisted on the historical right of the editor to be free from government scrutiny, but …

Reaffirming The Freedom Of The Press: Another Look At Miami Herald Publishing Co. V. Tornillo, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This note does not take issue with the result of the decision. Rather, the argument herein is that the access theory deserves more complete consideration. The Court used first amendment precedents to strike down the reply statute without exploring whether the rationale behind these precedents mandated such a result. In an effort to justify more fully the Court's conclusion, this note will first present the underlying rationale of the pro-access argument. It will then analyze the constitutionality of statutes that would implement a right of access. Finally, the note will discuss several practical difficulties that access legislation would present.

The Constitutionality Under The First Amendment Of Statutes Granting A Right Of Reply Or Access To The Print Media

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

The New York Times Rule--The Awakening Giant Of First Amendment Protections, Frank H. Warnock

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Expanding Constitutional Protection For The News Media From Liability For Defamation: Predictability And The New Synthesis, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

The tort of defamation has a long and complex history dating back to the sixteenth century. Though this tort from the very beginning did not find favor with the law courts, it has managed to survive into the second half of the twentieth century. But this survival may not endure much longer since the Supreme Court has found a deep conflict between the law of defamation and the first amendment. The reasons for this conflict and the Supreme Court's basic resolution of it in favor of first amendment values have been the subject of much scholarly comment, but the Court's …

The Newsman's Privilege: An Empirical Study, Vince Blasi

Michigan Law Review

Today, the statutory, common-law, and constitutional aspects of the long-dormant problem are being re-examined by many legislators, judges, and academicians. The Supreme Court is scheduled to address the constitutional question some time this term. I propose to enter this fray. In this article, I will report the results of an empirical survey that I have undertaken. In subsequent articles, I will analyze the eighteen state statutes that grant newsmen a privilege, consider whether protection for the reporter-news source relationship is compelled by existing common-law principles, and address the question whether a newsman's privilege is properly to be inferred from the …