First Amendment Commons^™

Muzzling And Caging Administrative Law Judges: The Social Security Administration Attempts To Control Its Most "Notorious" Employees, Allen E. Shoenberger

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

S!*T, P*@S, C*^T, F*#K, C*@!S*&!Er, M*!#$*@!*#^R, T*!S - The Fcc's Crackdown On Indecency, Lindsay Weiss

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

Consider The Source: A Note On Public-Sector Union Expenditure Restrictions Upheld In Davenport V. Washington Education Association, Daniel A. Himebaugh

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

Defining The Lifeblood: The Search For A Sensible Ministerial Exception Test, Summer E. Allen

Pepperdine Law Review

Over the past 40 years, the circuit courts have acknowledged a ministerial exception to Title VII and other anti-discrimination laws that gives churches the freedom to determine who serves in ministerial roles as a voice of a church’s faith. In January of 2012, the Supreme Court officially adopted the exception into its jurisprudence. The opinion, however, left many questions unanswered. Mainly, the decision failed to give any guidance to lower courts regarding who is and who is not a minister. This article traces the history of the ministerial exception and the church autonomy doctrine back to the Religion Clauses in …

How Do You Solve A Problem Like Sharia? Awad V. Ziriax And The Question Of Sharia Law In America, Jeremy Grunert

Pepperdine Law Review

In the 2010 midterm elections, the citizens of Oklahoma passed a ballot initiative barring Oklahoma courts from considering the tenets of Islamic Sharia law in their judicial decisions. This initiative was passed in the midst of a nation-wide debate on the nature of Sharia law, in which numerous states began to take legislative steps to ban or limit the application of Sharia. Oklahoma’s law was the first to explicitly ban Sharia, and it was immediately challenged by a Muslim plaintiff for violating the Constitution’s Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses. This Article examines the resulting case, Awad v. Ziriax, and the …

Executive Action And The First Amendment's First Word, Daniel J. Hemel

Pepperdine Law Review

In recent years, textualist scholars have advanced the argument that the First Amendment only applies to legislative action, and thus that executive authority is unencumbered by the First Amendment’s prohibitions. According to this argument, the words “Congress shall make no law” cannot be construed to limit the powers of the executive branch. Upon first glance, it might seem that a textualist reading of the First Amendment’s first word would give the executive branch carte blanche in the regulation of religion, expression, and association. Yet as this Article seeks to show, a textualist reading of the First Amendment’s first word does …

Redressing The Balance: An Examination Of The Scope First Amendment Protections, Prosecutorial Discretion, And Probable Cause In The Wake Of Hartman V. Moore, Anjoli Terhune

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

When Public Employees Speak Out On Issues Of Public Concern: The Applicability Of Pickering In Garcetti V. Ceballos, Jayne Chen

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

I Want My Mtv, But Not Your Vh1: A La Carte Cable, Bundling, And The Potential Great Cable Compromise, Holly Phillips

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

Fair Play: The Tension Between An Athletic Association's Regulatory Power And Free Speech Rights Of Member Schools - The Practical Implications Of Tennessee V. Brentwood, Aaron Echols

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

This case note focuses on the development of free speech rights and how those free speech rights co-exist with the rights of administrative bodies to regulate the speech and behavior of members. In particular, this case note examines the tension between the free speech rights of member schools trying to advertise the benefits of attending their school and the regulatory interests of an athletic association seeking to ensure fair athletic competition and academic priority over athletics.

"Speak, Go Ahead, Speak, Speak": Chamber Of Commerce V. Brown's Effect On Employment Speech Regarding Unionization , Lauren Kadish

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

This case note examines the analysis of the Supreme Court's holding in Chamber of Commerce. v. Brown and the effect the decision will have on the rights of employers to engage in noncoercive speech regarding unionization. Part II discusses the historical lineage of employer free speech guaranteed under the NLRA. Part III denotes the relevant facts and procedural history of the case and issues presented to the Supreme Court. Part IV analyzes both the majority and dissenting opinions regarding NLRA preemption over state regulations prohibiting the expenditure of state funds by employers to deter union organization. Finally, Part V considers …

Class Actions, Heightened Commonality, And Declining Access To Justice, A. Benjamin Spencer

Scholarly Articles

A prerequisite to being certified as a class under Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure is that there are "questions of law or fact common to the class." Although this “commonality” requirement had heretofore been regarded as something that was easily satisfied, in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes the Supreme Court gave it new vitality by reading into it an obligation to identify among the class a common injury and common questions that are "central" to the dispute. Not only is such a reading of Rule 23’s commonality requirement unsupported by the text of the rule, but …

Banning The Hijab In Prisons: Violations Of Incarcerated Muslim Women's Right To Free Exercise Of Religion, Ali Ammoura

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Muslim American women who wear the hijab, or Islamic headscarf, face religious discrimination in nearly every aspect of their public life. They even face it during arrest or incarceration. Law enforcement officials often force Muslim women to remove their hijab while in custody, which both degrades and humiliates them in the process. But prison policies that prohibit incarcerated Muslim women from wearing the hijab violate their right to free exercise of religion. Penal institutions should not prevent incarcerated Muslim women from wearing a hijab without compelling reasons, especially when such policies often arise out of religious discrimination. Courts must …

Balancing Intentional Infliction Of Emotional Distress Claims And First Amendment Protections In Snyder V. Phelps, Douglas Behrens

Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal

The article explores the delicate balance between First Amendment protections and Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress (IIED) claims, using the Snyder v. Phelps case as a focal point. It argues that while the Supreme Court correctly ruled in favor of Westboro Baptist Church's free speech rights, the current legal framework for balancing these interests is outdated. The author proposes an "enhanced publicity test" to modernize the analysis, ensuring that speech contributing to public discourse is protected while safeguarding individuals from severe emotional harm caused by malicious speech.

Back To The Bad Old Days: President Putin's Hold On Free Speech In The Russian Federation, Rebecca Favret

Law Student Publications

This paper addresses new laws promulgated in Russia that restrict freedom of speech. Each implicitly reflects the Kremlin's hostility toward political dissidence in the aftermath of serious protests following President Putin's reelection and elections to the legislature. Disturbed by the outcry, which took place in cities across Russia but also infiltrated the Internet, the Russian legislature passed strict laws censoring Internet speech, prohibiting behavior and speech deemed "extremist," and curbing the size and type of public gatherings.

The new legislation is examined through the lens of some of the Kremlin's most infamous and recent targets: namely, the Internet blacklist and …

Speech, Intent, And The Chilling Effect, Leslie Kendrick

William & Mary Law Review

Speaker’s intent requirements are a common but unremarked feature of First Amendment law. From the “actual malice” standard for defamation to the specific-intent requirement for incitement, many types of expression are protected or unprotected depending on the state of mind with which they are said. To the extent that courts and commentators have considered why speaker’s intent should determine First Amendment protection, they have relied upon the chilling effect. On this view, imposing strict liability for harmful speech, such as defamatory statements, would overdeter, or chill, valuable speech, such as true political information. Intent requirements are necessary prophylactically to provide …

Protecting Children? The Evolution Of The First Amendment: A Historical Timeline Of Children And Their Access To Pornography And Violence, Nicole Digiose

Pace Law Review

This paper will explore the evolving relationship between children and their access to potentially harmful materials. The timeline will start at Part II.A with the landmark decision of Prince v. Massachusetts, a 1940’s case, wherein children were afforded the most constitutional protection. In Part II.B, this paper will evaluate another landmark decision: Ginsberg v. New York. In this 1968 case, the Supreme Court declared that children shall not have access to harmful, pornographic materials. By the 1990s, there appeared to be a notable shift in how the Supreme Court decided cases pertaining to children and their access to …

Net Neutrality: Preparing For The Future, Jennifer Wong

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

Citizens United: A World Of Full Disclosure, Maxfield Marquardt

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

Contents, First Amendment Law Review

First Amendment Law Review

No abstract provided.