First Amendment Commons^™

No More Teachers' Dirty Looks -- Now They Sue: Analysis Of Plaintiff Status Determinations In Defamation Actions By Public Educators, Richard E. Johnson

Florida State University Law Review

The constitutionalization of defamation law in 1964 created a revolution in first amendment jurisprudence. The United States Supreme Court established protection for statements concerning public officials unless the statements were made with actual malice, i.e., knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard of truth or falsity. Later, the Court extended much of that protection to statements about public figures who are not government employees. Though the Court eventually narrowed the scope of its public figure doctrine, it never receded from the protection accorded to statements about public officials. The author of this Article contends that this distinction has eluded many state …

Religious Accommodation And Criminal Liability, Christine A. Clark

Florida State University Law Review

Florida's religious accommodation statute leads some parents to believe that they are free to rely on spiritual healing in lieu of medical treatment for their ill children. However, the statute fails to protect these parents in a criminal prosecution arising from their children's deaths. The author of this Article describes the various types of accommodation statutes, analyzes a recent prosecution, and concludes that such prosecutions are unconstitutional. The author also proposes revisions to Florida's law designed to eliminate ambiguities about what protections it provides.

Texas V. Johnson, 109 S. Ct. 2533 (1989), Deborah Tully Eversole

Florida State University Law Review

Constitutional Law-A VOYAGE THROUGH MURKY WATERS: ASSESSING FLAG MISUSE PROHIBITIONS IN THE WAKE OF Texas v. Johnson, 102 S. Ct. 2533 (1989)

Myths And Misunderstandings, Michael I. Meyerson

All Faculty Scholarship

This article explores the utility of the Holmsean marketplace of ideas when considering the regulation of different forms of communication technology.

A Prior Restraint By Any Other Name: The Judicial Response To Media Challenges Of Gag Orders Directed At Trial Participants, René L. Todd

Michigan Law Review

Gag orders directed at trial participants do not directly intrude into the media's editorial process, but instead result in a reduction of the total communication available regarding trial proceedings. In this way, participant-directed gag orders are effective, albeit indirect, restraints upon the media. This Note examines the dynamics of these participant-directed restrictions and their consequent effect upon the media. Part I examines participant-directed gag orders in relation to traditional prior restraint doctrine. After discussing the history of prior restraint doctrine and the present standard of prior restraint analysis, Part I relates efforts by courts to apply. prior restraint doctrine to …

Efficiency And Image: Advertising As An Antitrust Issue, Elizabeth B. Mensch, Alan David Freeman

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Humor, Defamation And Intentional Infliction Of Emotional Distress: The Potential Predicament For Private Figure Plaintiffs, Catherine L. Amspacher, Randel Steven Springer

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Rico Threatens Civil Liberties, Antonio J. Califa

Vanderbilt Law Review

The history of conspiracy, according to Justice Robert Jackson, exemplifies the "'tendency of a principle to expand itself to the limit of its logic.' "" This same phenomenon is present today in the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act of 1970 (RICO). RICO has moved beyond logic and intent into areas far removed from racketeering. Originally intended to combat organized crime, RICO is used increasingly in ideological disputes. For example, it has been used against abortion clinic protesters and anti-pornography groups.

This Article argues that using RICO in ideological disputes is inappropriate and harmful because it results in the chilling …

Flag Burning Yes, Loud Music No: What's The Catch?, Alicia Otazo Sorondo

University of Miami Law Review

No abstract provided.

Religious Free Speech Rights Of Students In Public Schools: The Educator's Dilemma, Rosalie Levinson

Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Equal Access Controversy: A Battle For Freedom Of Religious Speech In Public Secondary Schools, Michael D. Rouse

Florida State University Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Prosecution Of Religious Fraud, Stephen Senn

Florida State University Law Review

The first amendment to the United States Constitution protects the religious freedom of individuals through its establishment and free exercise clauses. Should the government's hands-off policy under the free exercise clause provide a protective blanket for fraudulent moneymaking schemes carried out in the name of religion? The author of this Article argues that the protection of religious freedom can comfortably coexist with protection from religious fraud where courts employ a "sincerity test." He concludes that with appropriate procedural safeguards, courts can use this test to distinguish sincere religious exercise from criminally fraudulent enterprise.

Costello V. Capital Cities Communication, Inc.: Ignoring The First Amendment Privilege, Thomas J. Pauloski

Loyola University Chicago Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Florida Star V. B.J.F.: The Rape Of The Right To Privacy, 23 J. Marshall L. Rev. 731 (1990), Barbara Lynn Pedersen

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Regulating Violent Pornography, Deana Pollard

Vanderbilt Law Review

In recent years the regulation of pornography has received much attention. Traditionally, conservatives have scorned pornography of all types on the basis that pornography is immoral. More recently, some feminists have attacked pornography from a civil rights perspective,claiming that pornography is the sexually explicit subordination of women that leads to discrimination against women in all aspects of life. Nonetheless, the first amendment currently protects all forms of pornography from regulation unless the material is deemed "obscene.

"Researchers, however, have shown that certain types of pornography, such as violent, sexually explicit materials, specifically harm women. The proven relationship between violent pornography …

Churches And The Free Exercise Of Religion, John H. Garvey

Scholarly Articles

The first amendment says that "Congress shall make no law . . . prohibiting the free exercise" of religion. This rule is most often used to protect individuals (religious speakers, pacifists, people claiming public benefits). This is hardly surprising. We naturally think that free exercise is an individual right, as we think that religion is a personal and private affair. I want to dispute (more modestly, to qualify) that view. I will argue that we should (sometimes) see the freedom of religion as a group right, which can conflict with, and take precedence over, individual rights.

This Gun For Hire: Dancing In The Dark Of The First Amendment, Michael I. Meyerson

All Faculty Scholarship

Classified advertisements in newspapers and magazines represent a uniquely democratic access to the media for the individual. Without having to pay the thousands of dollars for full-page advertisements, buyers and sellers can purchase space for their offers for only a few dollars, yet have them seen by city-wide or nation-wide audiences. Democracy, though, breeds its own excesses, and the legal question is always how to control that excess without harming the freedom.

As befits a medium open to all, classified advertisements run the gamut of human activity, from the sale of a used automobile to employment to lonely singles looking …

The Supreme Court And The First Amendment: The 1989-90 Term, Elliot M. Mincberg

NYLS Journal of Human Rights

No abstract provided.

The Video Revolution And The First Amendment: Democratization Of Media Production And Public Access To The Future "Electronic Public Forum", Steven Siegel

NYLS Journal of Human Rights

No abstract provided.

Impending Legal Issues For Integrated Broadband Networks, Michael I. Meyerson

All Faculty Scholarship

Given human nature, computer networks are prone to many of the same legal problems that have affected earlier forms of communication. The insatiable human appetite for mischief, information, pornography, and anti-competitive activity guarantees that the many legal conflicts that afflict computers, telephones, cable television, and broadcasting will be visited upon IBNs. This article focuses on several of these legal problems. By examining the history of controversies involving the electronic media and breaches of security, protection of privacy, regulation of sexual material and refusals to deal, this article attempts to outline some ways to think about applying the lessons from the …