First Amendment Commons^™

The Power Of The Parental Trump Card: How And Why Frazier V. Winn Got It Right, Jocelyn Floyd

Chicago-Kent Law Review

When two fundamental rights are in conflict, such that the protection of one requires the infringement of the other, courts must weigh those rights against each other to determine which is ultimately greater. In Frazier v. Winn, the Eleventh Circuit dealt with precisely such an issue: specifically, the rights of parents pitted against those of their children. This note explores the history of both parental rights and student's rights in school to show why the court appropriately affirmed that children's right to free speech is only as expansive as their parents allow, justified by the parents' fundamental right to …

Freedom From Compulsion, Tess Slattery

Chicago-Kent Law Review

A recent Eleventh Circuit case, Frazier ex rel. Frazier v. Winn, upheld as facially constitutional a Florida statute that requires a student to obtain parental permission before abstaining from participation in the Pledge of Allegiance. This note argues that the court reached the wrong conclusion because it failed to properly weigh the students' right to free speech against the parents' right to control the upbringing of their children. This note argues that Justice Breyer's framework for balancing conflicting rights should be adopted for use in this context. By applying Justice Breyer's balancing test, the Florida statute should be found …

Prescribing Orthodoxy, Kelly Sarabyn

Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal

The article examines the constitutional implications of government actions that compel ideological conformity, particularly focusing on the First Amendment's prohibition against coerced ideological speech. It argues that while the Supreme Court has established that the government cannot force citizens to adopt specific ideological beliefs, the legal framework remains unclear and inconsistent. The analysis emphasizes the need for a structured approach to determine when such coercion crosses constitutional boundaries, especially in cases involving captive audiences and government speech. The author proposes that the prohibition on prescribing orthodoxy should explicitly ban the use of nonrational methods to influence citizens' beliefs, ensuring a …

A "Pay Or Play" Experiment To Improve Children's Educational Television, Lili Levi

Federal Communications Law Journal

This Article addresses both the constitutionality and the efficacy of the FCC's current rules that require broadcasters to air children's educational programming. It argues that, even though the rules would probably pass muster under the First Amendment, they should nevertheless be substantially revised.

Empirical studies show mixed results, with substantial amounts of educationally insufficient programming. This is predictable-attributable to broadcaster incentives, limits on the FCC's enforcement capacities, and audience factors. Instead, the Article advises a turn away from programming mandates. It proposes a "pay or play" approach that allows broadcasters to pay a fee to a fund for high-quality public …

Protecting The Cloak And Dagger With An Illusory Shield: How The Proposed Free Flow Of Information Act Falls Short, Jill Laptosky

Federal Communications Law Journal

Journalists who use secret sources may be presented with a staggering dilemma-disclose the source to comply with a subpoena or go to jail to protect the source. Despite the U.S. Supreme Court's holding in Branzburg v. Hayes (1972), most jurisdictions now recognize that journalists have a privilege not to disclose their confidential sources when compelled to do so by the government. While the degree of the privilege's protection varies across jurisdictions, the fact that such a privilege exists at all may surprise anyone who has read Branzburg, which held that the First Amendment cannot support the existence of the privilege. …

Proving Fair Use: Burden Of Proof As Burden Of Speech, Ned Snow

Faculty Publications

Courts have created a burden of proof in copyright that chills protected speech. The doctrine of fair use purports to ensure that copyright law does not trample rights of speakers whose expression employs copyrighted material. Yet those speakers face a burden of proof that weighs heavily in the fair use analysis, where factual inquiries are often subjective and speculative. Failure to satisfy the burden means severe penalties, which prospect quickly chills the free exercise of speech that constitutes a fair use. The fair-use burden of proof is repugnant to the fair use purpose. Today, copyright holders are exploiting the burden …

Assisted Suicide, Morality, And Law: Why Prohibiting Assisted Suicide Violates The Establishment Clause, Edward Rubin

Vanderbilt Law Review

This Article argues that general prohibitions against assisted suicide violate the Establishment Clause because they support a particular and religiously based moral position. Many laws overlap with religious proscriptions, of course. The conclusion that laws against assisted suicide are unconstitutional because of their religious origin is based on the specific historical context of these laws within our existing culture. Over the course of Western civilization, attitudes about suicide have oscillated from positive approbation in many Greek and Roman sources, to outright and unalterable opposition by Christian writers, to acceptance and limited approval by contemporary secular thinkers and health practitioners. At …

A Right To Bare All? Female Public Toplessness And Dealing With The Laws That Prohibit, Danielle Moriber

Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal

The note examines the legal and societal implications of women's right to be topless in public, arguing that this issue intersects with First Amendment rights, equal protection under the law, and cultural perceptions of gender and modesty. It contends that while societal norms heavily influence laws restricting female toplessness, such restrictions often disproportionately target women and raise constitutional concerns. The analysis advocates for a balanced approach, such as zoning regulations, to address these issues while respecting individual rights and community standards.

Proving Fair Use: Burden Of Proof As Burden Of Speech, Ned Snow

Cardozo Law Review

Courts have created a burden of proof in copyright that chills protected speech. The doctrine of fair use purports to ensure that copyright law does not trample rights of speakers whose expression employs copyrighted material. Yet those speakers face a burden of proof that weighs heavily in the fair use analysis, where factual inquiries are often subjective and speculative. Failure to satisfy the burden means severe penalties, which prospect quickly chills the free exercise of speech that constitutes a fair use. The fair-use burden of proof is repugnant to the fair use purpose. Today, copyright holders are exploiting the burden …

Adopted Speech: Summum'S Implications On Government-Sponsored, Student Speech, Landon Wade Magnusson

Brigham Young University Education and Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Blood Libel: Radical Islam's Conscription Of The Law Of Defamation Into A Legal Jihad Against The West - And How To Stop It, R. Ashby Pate

First Amendment Law Review

No abstract provided.

Father Hill And Fanny Hill: An Activist Group's Crusade To Remake Obscenity Law, Stephen Bates

First Amendment Law Review

No abstract provided.

Obstacles To Credit Rating Agencies' First Amendment Defense In Light Of Abu Dhabi, Parisa Haghshenas

First Amendment Law Review

No abstract provided.

Insincere Apologies: The Tenth Circuit's Treatment Of Compelled Speech In Public High Schools, Nora Sullivan

First Amendment Law Review

No abstract provided.

Contents, First Amendment Law Review

First Amendment Law Review

No abstract provided.

Standards Of Conduct For Journalists Under Europe's First Amendment, Regis Bismuth

First Amendment Law Review

No abstract provided.

To Speak Or Not To Speak: Theoretical Difficulties Of Analyzing Compelled Speech Claims Under A Restricted Speech Standard, Brandon C. Pond

Brigham Young University Education and Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Licensing Facially Religious Government Speech: Summum'S Impact On The Free Speech And Establishment Clauses, Scott W. Gaylord

First Amendment Law Review

No abstract provided.

Iran, Social Media, And U.S. Trade Sanctions: The First Amendment Implications Of U.S. Foreign Policy, Nadia L. Luhr

First Amendment Law Review

No abstract provided.

Introduction: In Flagrante Depicto, Peter Goodrich

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.