First Amendment Commons^™

Book Review Of Legacy Of Suppression, James P. Whyte Jr.

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law - Freedom Of Speech And Press - Prohibitions On The Publication Or Distribution Of Anonymous Campaign Literature, Frank G. Reeder S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Defendant was charged under a federal statute' with the publication and distribution of a pamphlet which concerned a candidate for United States Senator in a special senatorial election and which did not contain the name of the person or group responsible for its publication and distribution as required by the statute. The defendant alleged that his occupation as a farmer made him particularly subject to regulation by the federal government, and that he feared coercion or reprisals from the federal representatives with whom he dealt if he complied with the statute's disclosure requirement. On motion to dismiss the information on …

Church And State: Cooperative Separatism, Paul G. Kauper

Michigan Law Review

Nothing is better calculated to stimulate argument, arouse controversy, excite the emotions and even produce intense visceral reactions than a discussion of church-state relations. Always a subject of lively interest, it has received added attention and emphasis in recent months. Perhaps at no time in at least the modem era of American history have the questions of the proper relationship between religion and government been more thoroughly publicized and explored, and the issues more widely debated, than during the period beginning with the presidential campaign of 1960.

Compulsory Disclosure And The First Amendment - The Scope Of Judicial Review, Robert B. Kent

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Involvement of the Supreme Court of the United States with highly charged public issues understandably occasions fresh debate concerning the proper role of the Court in determining questions of ultimate governmental power, in short, debate over the doctrine of judicial review.

As it is sometimes difficult for the judge to distinguish between what is unconstitutional and what is merely unwise, so it is difficult for the critic to disassociate his reaction to the results reached in a given case from his evaluation of the competence of the particular judicial performance. For some the failure to draw such a line robs …

Constitutional Law- Freedom Of Religion- Tuition Payments To Parochial Schools Violate Fourteenth Amendment, William S. Bach

Michigan Law Review

Because defendant school district did not maintain a high school within the school district, tuition payments were made, as provided by statute, to the high schools attended by pupils residing within the district. The parents of each student selected the high school to be attended. As a result of this program, some tuition payments were made to high schools operated by the Roman Catholic Church. Plaintiff taxpayer sought in a declaratory judgment a determination of the validity of tuition payments made to Catholic high schools under the United States Constitution and the Constitution of Vermont. The court of chancery held …

Anonymity: An Emerging Fundamental Right

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Legislative Process And The Rule Of Law: Attempts To Legislate Taste In Moral And Political Beliefs, Samuel D. Estep

Michigan Law Review

In a nutshell, the topic of this paper is "Comstockery and the Bowdlerizing of Ideas." The thesis here asserted is that the Rule of Law is violated when legislatures succumb to modern attempts by the often pathologically-motivated zealot legally to freeze current tastes in moral and political beliefs. The relationship between taste statutes and the seemingly esoteric topic, "The Legislative Process and the Rule of Law," is based on the premise that the maximum possible degree of intellectual freedom for each individual is an essential ingredient in the legal system of a civilized society.

Constitutional Law - Judicial Determination Of Constitutional Questions - The Necessity Of Explicit Authorization Of Administrative Officers To Take Actions Which Limit First Amendment Freedoms, Walter R. Allan

Michigan Law Review

Appellant applied for renewal of his radio operator's license but refused to complete an FCC form relating to past and present affiliations with the Communist Party and other organizations which advocate the violent overthrow of the United States Government. At that time, and later in a hearing granted by the FCC, appellant relied upon the first amendment to justify his refusal. Subsequently the FCC denied his application. On appeal to the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, held, affirmed, one judge dissenting. Pursuant to its power to grant licenses in the public interest,1 the FCC may impose …

Comments, Various Editors

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Newspaper Interference In Judicial Proceedings, John Vamis

Cleveland State Law Review

Emphasis has been put on situations which appear to indicate that the press has been, at the very least, over-aggressive in its operations. As has been shown, considerable leeway is accorded the press in its activity, even where it conflicts with the fair administration of justice. Although the courts will enforce penalties for clear violation of the fair administration of justice, the facts must spell out a clear and imminent danger. As to the individual, there does not presently appear to beany clear provision of legal remedy for newspaper interference with individual rights, except in the civil or criminal libel …

Freedom Of Association, William J. Hotes, Catherine H. Hotes

Cleveland State Law Review

To determine whether a limitation upon freedom of association by a state is constitutionally justified, the Court must balance the interests of those individuals whose rights have been restricted against the interests of the state involved. Constitutional freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment may be restricted only when the state has a compelling interest. A state may take action in the interest of public safety, health, or welfare to prevent abuse of the exercise of these freedoms, but it may not curtail the rights themselves. Only the public interest or a clear and present danger would justify restriction of First …

Freedom From Obscenity, Norman A. Erbe, Arlo F. Craig Jr.

Cleveland State Law Review

Interest in obscenity laws, in the reason and purpose for their being, their efficacy in achieving the ends for which they are intended, the threat their existence and enforcement pose to the freedoms of speech and press, and the attitude of the courts toward them, seems to be at a new high. Obscenity is universally condemned throughout the United States. Yet law enforcement officers who attempt to enforce obscenity laws invariably are accused of "censoring" and "book burning."' A good many of such charges come from persons whose ox is being gored-persons who have a pecuniary interest in having obscenity …

Book Review, Jack F. Smith

Cleveland State Law Review

Reviewing James Jackson Kilpatrick, The Smut Peddlers, Doubleday & Co., 1960

Freedom Of Assembly And Racial Demonstrations, Richard W. Ervin

Cleveland State Law Review

We have chosen to discuss and undertake to determine the precise point at which an assemblage of persons engaged in a racial demonstration loses constitutional protection and becomes instead an unlawful assembly, punishable as such under the common law or under state statutes or ordinances which embody the common law. To accomplish this purpose, we shall first attempt to define the crime of "unlawful assembly"; then we shall discuss breach of the peace because it is so intimately connected with the offense of unlawful assembly. This article will conclude with examples of situations in which racial demonstrations are, or are …

Constitutional Law - Obscenity - The Evolving Definition Of Obscenity, Michael R. Bradley

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Abstracts Of Recent Cases, M. J. F.

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Courts And Bible Reading In The Public Schools, A. G. H.

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Public Speech And Public Order In Britain And The United States, Richard E. Stewart

Vanderbilt Law Review

This paper will not attempt a general comparison of free speech in Britain and the United States. It concentrates on one aspect of the free speech problem. That aspect is speech that does or may lead to a breach of the peace by the audience.'

A Variety Of Freedoms, Stanley D. Rose

Vanderbilt Law Review

The Idea of Freedom: A Dialectical Examination of the Conceptions of Freedom By Mortimer J. Adler Institute of Philosophical Research. Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Co. 1958. Pp.xxvii, 689. $7.50 . . .

Each year a number of books appear which are devoted to the subject of freedom. This has been going on for at least two thousand years. But a reading of only a few of this multitude of volumes will show that one man's freedom is not necessarily another man's. It appears obvious that some order and classification ought to be introduced into our thinking about this …

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW--PRE-EMPTION--FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1934 DOES NOT INVALIDATE STATE WIRETAPPING STATUTE

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CONSTITUTIONAL LAW--SCHOOLS--UNCONSTITUTIONALITY OF STATUTE REQUIRING BIBLE READING IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

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CRIMINAL LAW--BRIBERY--OFFER TO GIVE MONEY TO CONGRESSMAN'S POLITICAL PARTY

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CRIMINAL LAW--CONFESSIONS--REQUIREMENT OF CORROBORATION OF EXTRAJUDICIAL CONFESSION

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EVIDENCE--EXPERT TESTIMONY--INADMISSIBILITY OF EXPERT TESTIMONY THAT A NARCOTIC ADDICT IS UNWORTHY OF BELIEF

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FEDERAL RULES CIVIL PROCEDURE--DECLARATORY JUDGMENTS--RIGHT OF COUNTERCLAIMING DEFENDANT TO TRIAL BY JURY

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PROFESSION OF LAW--UNAUTHORIZED PRACTICE--CORPORATION MAY ENGAGE IN ACTIVITIES CONSTITUTING PRACTICE OF LAW IF SUCH ACTIVITIES ARE INCIDENTAL TO ITS PRINCIPAL BUSINESS

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STATE AND LOCAL TAXATION--INVALID ASSESSMENTS-JUDICIAL REVIEW AFTER FAILURE TO …

Constitutional Law--Freedom Of Speech And Press--Determination Of Obscenity, J. G. V. M.

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Meiklejohn: Political Freedom, Paul G. Kauper

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Political Freedom. By Alexander Meiklejohn

Constitutional Law - Separation Of Church And State - Bible Reading In The Public Schools, Henry B. Pearsall

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiffs, as parents of children in the public school system, sought to enjoin and have declared unconstitutional the practice of reading aloud to students each day ten verses of the Holy Bible as required by a Pennsylvania statute. The plaintiffs contended that this practice constituted an establishment of religion and a prohibition of the free exercise thereof and was therefore a violation of rights guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. By a three-judge district court, held, for plaintiffs. The statute violated the United States Constitution because the Bible is essentially a religious book and the …

Obscenity In The Mails, Harvey L. Zuckman

Scholarly Articles

For nearly one hundred years the federal government has had as one of its functions the suppression of mail trade in obscene and pornographic matter. The first federal enactment in this field provided that the mailing of an obscene book, pamphlet, picture, print, or other publication with knowledge of its nature was a misdemeanor. The present postal obscenity law' dates back to 1873 and is sometimes referred to as the Comstock Law because of the support given its passage by the notorious Anthony Comstock, agent for the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice. While its original wording would …

Journalist's Testimonial Privilege, Ramutis R. Semeta

Cleveland State Law Review

On numerous occasions, newsmen have pleaded for protection against testimonial compulsion as a necessary safeguard for the preservation of the freedom of the press. Due to this constant assertion, one is compelled to take a brief look at the press, before indulging in the specific study of the journalist's testimonial privilege.

Book Review, Ford L. Noble

Cleveland State Law Review

Reviewing David Fellman, The Limits of Freedom, Rutgers University Press, 1959

Constitutional Law - Congressional Investigation Of Political Activity-Watkins V. United States Re-Examined, Avrum M. Gross S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

It is the function of this comment to examine the traditional scope and limitations of congressional investigations, with particular emphasis on these two cases.

Constitutional Law- Civil Rights - Union Use Of Dues For Political Action, Paul Hanke

Michigan Law Review

Defendant unions under the authority of section 2, Eleventh of the Railway Labor Act obtained union shop agreements from defendant railroads. Non-union employees sought to enjoin enforcement of the agreements because the unions used periodic dues, fees, and assessments to support political doctrines and candidates opposed by plaintiffs. The trial court dismissed for failure to state a cause of action, but the Supreme Court of Georgia overruled the dismissal and remanded. The lower court then ruled that petitioners were denied constitutional liberties and issued the injunction. On appeal, held, affirmed. Enforcement of union shop contracts requiring employees to pay …

Abstracts Of Recent Cases, W. E. M.

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Supreme Court - October 1958 Term, Bernard Schwartz

Michigan Law Review

The Supreme Court, reads a famous passage by Bryce, "feels the touch of public opinion. Opinion is stronger in America than anywhere else in the world, and judges are only men. To yield a little may be prudent, for the tree that cannot bend to the blast may be broken."

The history of the highest Court bears constant witness to the truth of Bryce's statement. Supreme Court action which has moved too far in one direction has always ultimately provoked an equivalent reaction in the opposite direction. Even an institution as august as the high tribunal cannot escape the law …