First Amendment Commons^™

Recent Decision Note, Thomas L. Shaffer

Journal Articles

The Supreme Court of Colorado heard on appeal a tax dispute between the State Board of Equalization and Arapahoe County and, in announcing a decision in favor of the board, delayed publication of its formal written opinion for one week. At the time the decision was announced the opinion had been written, but had not been prepared for publication. Four days later respondent published an editorial in his newspaper attacking the decision, suggesting that it was inspired by political rather than legal considerations, and intimating that popular disapproval might result in a written opinion mitigating some of the decision's rigor. …

Mr. Justice Jackson, Free Speech, And The Judicial Function, Walter F. Murphy

Vanderbilt Law Review

All free speech cases decided by the United States Supreme Court are hard cases; and, if they do not, according to the old saw, make bad law, they do make law which is both fragile and fascinating. Wrapped up inside the kernel of each of these cases are many of the most troublesome problems which confront a democratic government: the relation of majority rule to minority rights, the necessity of peace and order but the equally imperative necessity of open discussion, and, not least, the paradoxical role of an appointive judiciary in curbing, in the name of democracy and freedom, …

Constitutional Law--Freedom Of The Press--Testimony Privilege Of Journalist, L. B. S.

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Law Of Obscenity: New Significance Of The Receiving Group

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Labor Law - Labor Management Relations Act - Linking "Employer Free Speech" To No-Solicitation Rule, Barbara Burger

Michigan Law Review

During an organizational campaign the employer prohibited any dissemination of literature on company property and soliciting or campaigning on company time by employees while itself distributing within the plant non-threatening, anti-union literature. General Counsel for the NLRB contended that by this conduct the employer "interfered with, restrained or coerced" employees in their exercise of the right to self-organization. This contention was rejected by the NLRB, but on appeal was accepted by the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. On certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, held, reversed, two justices dissenting. Even if an employer could commit …

Justice Reed And The First Amendment (The Religion Clauses). By F. William O’Brien., Kevin Kennedy

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Censorship Of Defamatory Political Broadcasts: The Port Huron Doctrine, Harvey L. Zuckman

Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law - Freedom Of Press - Validity Of Motion Picture Licensing Statute, Dean L. Berry S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The distributor of the motion picture "Lady Chatterley's Lover" applied to the Motion Picture Division of the New York State Education Department for a license, required by New York law, for public presentation of the film. The application was denied on the ground the film was "immoral" within the meaning of the licensing statute. On review, the Board of Regents approved this determination, but on appeal the state supreme court reversed the Board. A divided court of appeals reversed the supreme court, holding that the contents of the film met the statutory definition of "immoral." On appeal to the Supreme …

The Barenblatt Decision Of The Supreme Court And The Academic Profession, Ralph F. Fuchs

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Book Note, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Written primarily for the layman, this book reads much like a historical novel, detailing the lives of the two men whose personalities came into such violent conflict in a troubled time. Two-thirds of the book sets the stage for the trial which occupies the final third of the volume. The trial portion of the book consists mainly of quotes from the arguments of counsel, illustrating the rhetorical effects achieved by the attorneys in arguing a case that loomed large in the public eye. The authors--a husband and wife team, neither of whom appears to have a legal background--have successfully edited …

Book Reviews, Albert S. Abel, Breck P. Mcallister, W. Friedmann, Rex A. Collings Jr., Frank J. Trelease, Elden S. Magaw, Albert A. Ehrenzweig, Reginald Heber Smith, Ilmar Tammelo, Jo Desha Lucas

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Broadcasting In The Courtroom, Frank L. Taylor

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law--Freedom Of Speech--Ordinance Requiring Registration Of Union Organizers Held Violative, J. L. R.

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Supreme Court And Obscenity, Philip M. Carden

Vanderbilt Law Review

The Supreme Court of the United States has now made binding law of its oft-repeated dictum that obscenity is beyond the pale of constitutionally protected free expression. After being spared-or avoiding-the necessity of ruling squarely on the constitutional status of obscene matter for 169 years, the Court addressed itself to virtually every aspect of the whole slippery problem in a single year. The Court disposed of seven obscene publication cases' in the twelvemonths through January, 1958. These included three reversals this term in memorandum decisions merely citing the major opinion of the series, which was handed down in the combined …

"Congress Shall Make No Law…":Ii, O. John Rogge

Michigan Law Review

The framers of the federal bill of rights by the First and Tenth Amendments sought to deny Congress power over utterances unless they were connected with criminal conduct other than advocacy. Any power over such utterances was to reside in the states. However, the Supreme Court departed from the framers' intent.

One of the factors in this development was the emergence of an undefined federal police power. This occurred largely under the commerce and postal clauses. It began over a century ago. As early as 1838 Congress passed a law requiring the installation of safety devices upon steam vessels. Beginning …

"Congress Shall Make No Law..."*, O. John Rogge

Michigan Law Review

It is the position of the writer that, at least so far as Congress is concerned, speech is as free as thought, and that unless and until speech becomes a part of a course of conduct which Congress can restrain or regulate no federal legislative power over it exists. State power, despite the Fourteenth Amendment, may be somewhat more extensive. Certainly the framers of the First Amendment intended that it should be. This article will deal with federal power over speech.

Constitutional Law--Smith Act--Requirement Of Words Of Incitement, J. Mcd.

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law--Obscenity, J. E. J.

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law - Due Process -Watkins V. United States As A Limitation On Power Of Congressional Investigating Committees, Allan F. Bioff S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

It is the purpose of this comment to examine the nature and extent of the restraints imposed by the Watkins case as well as the potential problems raised by the decision.

Constitutional Law - Due Process - Limits On Investigative Power Of State Legislative Committees, George E. Lohr

Michigan Law Review

Defendant appeared before the New Hampshire attorney general, who was authorized by statute to investigate violations of the state subversive activities law and to determine if subversive persons, as defined therein, were present within the state. Defendant refused to answer certain questions about the contents of a university class lecture delivered by him and about his knowledge of other persons' activities in the Progressive Party, contending that such questions infringed an area protected by the First Amendment. The state superior court conceded the infringement of defendant's rights, but found this to be justified by state interest in self-protection, and convicted …

St. John-Stevas: Obscenity And The Law, William B. Lockhart

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Obscenity and the Law . By Norman St. John-Stevas

Scope Of Employment Test In Relation To Slander Action, David C. Rittenhouse

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Progress Of The Law: U. S. Soldier Must Stand Trial In Japan / New Trials Ordered For California Communist Leaders / Limitation Of The Power Of Congressional Committees / Virginia Loses School Plea / Court Congestion At 57 Year Low / A Tooth For A Tooth / Support Based On Father's Means / Astrologer's Market Tips Legal / Jet Noise No Ground For Suit / Prison Offer Obtains New Hearing / Necrological

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Labor Law - Nlra - "Roving Situs" Picketing As Violation Of Section 8(B)(4)(A), William K. Muir Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Respondent union sought to organize the crane and dragline operators of a manufacturer of ready-mixed cement and posted pickets about the local manufacturing plant. During the working day each of the employer's delivery trucks crossed the picket line at least twice. In addition, the union established a roving picket line which circulated about the manufacturer's trucks while they were making deliveries to customers at local construction sites. The roving picketing lasted only so long as the workers of the primary employer remained on the customer's premises. The pickets at all times stayed within six hundred feet of the trucks. The …

Voice Identification, Writing Exemplars And The Privilege Against Self-Incrimination, Russell J. Weintraub

Vanderbilt Law Review

The problems involved in defining the nature of the privilege against self-incrimination and in setting its limits have been much mooted in recent years. Though these problems have been brought into sharp focus by the present very urgent and certainly justified concern for our national security, they are problems which are inherent in the privilege itself. They have been with us for a long time.

One of these problems concerns the extent to which a person may refuse to participate in criminal proceedings brought against him. Doubtless not even the most liberal proponent of the privilege would claim that an …

Constitutional Law - Separation Of Church And State - Bible Reading In The Public Schools, Frederic F. Brace Jr.

Michigan Law Review

The plaintiff, as a citizen, taxpayer, and parent of school children, sought an injunction to restrain the defendant school board from allowing school teachers to read the Bible aloud to students as required by a Tennessee statute. The plaintiff contended that this practice was offensive to him and in violation of the Tennessee and United States Constitutions. The trial court sustained defendant's demurrer. On appeal, held, affirmed. The statute violates neither constitution because it is not an interference with students' or parents' religious beliefs. Carden v. Bland, (Tenn. 1956) 288 S. W. (2d) 718.

The Utopian Pilgrimage Of Mr. Justice Murphy, John P. Roche

Vanderbilt Law Review

On July 19, 1949, Frank Murphy, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States died in Detroit. The liberal press mourned the passing of a mighty warrior for civil liberty. Other journals observed the protocol of the occasion by politely deploring his death, the University of Michigan Law School prepared a memorial issue of the Michigan Law Review' in honor of its distinguished alumnus, a few encomiums appeared in the law journals, then silence set in. A silence which has been broken only by occasional slighting references to Murphy's talents, and by a word-of-mouth tradition in law school …

Judge Hand's Views On The Free Speech Problem, Robert S. Lancaster

Vanderbilt Law Review

Judge Learned Hand has been for many years a lawyer's lawyer. His opinions are liberally sprinkled through the case books; commentaries on legal matters cite his opinions with increasing respect and admiration; but to many people he is the judge who upheld the conviction of the eleven communists in New York on a question involving the limits of free speech. Scholars of parts and even some lawyers do not know that he anticipated the Supreme Court's "clear and present danger" test by two years, or that his contribution to the law of free speech is by no means confined to …

Mr. Justice Frankfurter -- Law And Choice, Wallace Mendelson

Vanderbilt Law Review

In an opinion that seems destined to live as long as the ideals of democracy survive, Justices Holmes and Brandeis rejected their colleagues' narrow conception of free speech, yet concurred in the judgment affirming conviction. Though the accused had claimed protection under the appropriate constitutional provision, she had failed at the trial level to raise the "clear and present danger" issue. Raising it in the Supreme Court was futile, thought Holmes and Brandeis, because "Our power of review in this case is limited not only to the question whether a right guaranteed by the Federal Constitution was denied [in the …

My Native Grounds, Royal W. France, Jack C. Lane

Faculty Publications

In 1957, near the end of his life, Royal France, a Rollins College economics professor for over twenty years, published My Native Grounds, a memoir that chronicles his life of service and commitment in the first half of the twentieth century. His story, which provides insights and perspectives on American life during the first half of the twentieth century that only an active participant could furnish, will appeal to scholars of both Florida and national histories, particularly those interested in American civil liberties history. This exceptionally well written, readable memoir will appeal as well to the general reader who has …