Transcript FREEDOM OF SPEECH

FREEDOM OF SPEECH
WHERE IN THE CONSTITUTION?
• First Amendment
• Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting
the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the
right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a
redress of grievances.
• Prohibits Congress from restricting the rights of individuals to speak freely.
ORIGIN FROM ENGLISH COMMON
LAW
• Originated in English Parliament
• House of Commons speaker would make a plea for the king not to kill him for the
things he said in his duties
• Gradually evolved into a general right of the parliament granted by the king of free
speech
• View later turned into free speech in parliament was a right the king could not
interfere with
• When colonists came to America they set up the government in the same way
with the only difference being that legislators would not be protected from
criticism from the people. Since that would be against the spirit of America.
LIST OF CASES
• Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire (1942) – 9-0 decision that the use of fighting words in
a public place breachs the state of peace.
• United States v. O’Brien (1968)- O’ Brien burned his draft card at a Boston; 7-1
decision that law against this was constitutional
• Bible and Tract Society v. Stratton (2002)- determined in a 8-1 decision you had to
have a permit to go door to door with religious speeches
• Virginia v. Black (2003)- cross-burning was an unconstitutional because it is a
content-based restriction on free speech.
• Ashcroft v. ACLU (2004) 5-4 decision that the Child On-Line Protection Act violated
the First Amendment because it resulted in content-based restrictions on speech.
SCHENCK V. UNITED STATES
• Argued January 9-10, 1919
• Ended March 3, 1919
• Schenck, a communist, mailed letters to draftees urging them to “not submit to
intimidation” and stated that the draft was a monstrous wrong. Schneck was
charged with attempting to cause insubordination in the military obstruct
recruitment.
SCHENCK V. UNITED STATES
RULING
• Justice Oliver Holmes wrote the majority opinion for the unanimous court saying
that Schenck is not protected in this situation because he was advocating the
breaking of the law.
• This case set the precedent of some things being acceptable during peacetime and
not during wartime.
DEBS V. UNITED STATES
• Argued January 27, 1919
• Ended March 10, 1919
• Eugene Deb’s gave a speech encouraging soldiers to dodge the draft. He was
arrested due to the Espionage Act of 1917 which banned anything that would
obstruct the recruitment and the operation of the military. Debs claimed that the
Espionage Act of 1917 infringed on his right to free speech.
DEBS V. UNITED STATES RULING
• The supreme court ruled that the Espionage Act of 1917 is not infringing on Debs
right to free speech.
• The court ruled that this was similar to Schenck V. United States in that he was
encouraging people to break the law in avoiding the draft and obstructing the goals
of the military during war time.
• Based off of the precedence that Schneck V. United States set
WEST VIRGINIA V. BARNETTE
• Argued March 11, 1943
• Decided June 14, 1943
• West Virginia passed a law requiring students to participate in activities relating to
supporting Americanism such as the pledge of allegiance. Walter Barnette along
with several Jehovah’s Witnesses sued the school.
• Started in district court
WEST VIRGINIA V. BARNETTE
RULING
• The law was overturned in a 6-3 vote
• Majority opinion written by Justice Jackson stating that now law “can prescribe
what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion, or
force citizens to confess by word or act their faith”
• Justices Black and Murphy wrote concurring opinions for the reasons that the
words under compulsion are not meant and the there is not really a purpose for this
law respectively.
BRANDENBURG V. OHIO
• Argued February 27, 1969
• Decided June 9, 1969
• A KKK leader, Brandenburg, made a racist speech at a rally and was convicted
under an Ohio Criminal syndicalism law
• Law made advocating terrorism, sabotage, violence, and other things of that ilk
illegal
• Law also made assembling a society to teach criminal syndicalism illegal
BRANDENBURG V. OHIO RULING
• Per Curium opinion of court ruled that the Ohio law violated Brandenburg’s right to
free speech
• The Court stated that the law was too broad since it ignored whether or not the
speech actually caused any criminal activity
• Set the precedent of non wartime free speech
• Two concurring opinions were written by Justices Black and Douglas which stated
that the law was too vague and there is no proof of action respectively
MORSE V. FREDERICK
• Argued March 19, 2007
• Decided June, 25 2007
• Joseph Frederick, a high school student, held up a sign saying “Bong Hits for Jesus”
• This sign was against the school’s drug policy and Frederick was suspended for 10
days
• Frederick sued for infringement of free speech
MORSE V. FREDERICK RULING
• 5-4 vote against Frederick
• Majority opinion by Justice John Roberts stated that while students are entitled to
some political speech, it does not apply to pro-drug messages that undermine a
school's anti-drug policy
• Set a precedent for limited free speech for students
• Concurring opinions written by Judges Thomas and Alito stated that students
have no right to free speech and that this case only applies to pro-drug speech
respectively
• Justice Stevens wrote a dissent stating that even high school students are entitled
to unfettered right to debate
MORSE V. FREDERICK RULING
• Was taken through the 9th circuit
• 5-4 decision to uphold the schools decision
• Majority opinion written by Justice John Roberts
• Majority opinion stated that student’s free speech rights are not as extensive as free
speech rights that adults enjoy
• Also stated that students have some right to political speech however this does not
extend to pro-drug messages
• Justice Thomas and Justice Alito both wrote concurring opinions that stated that
students should have no free speech and that this ruling only applies to pro-drug
political speech respectively
Works Cited
• "West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette." Oyez. Chicago-Kent College of Law at Illinois Tech, n.d. Sep 26, 2016.
https://www.oyez.org/cases/1940-1955/319us624
• Opinion of the Court, West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (June 14, 1943) - Robert H Jackson Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept.
2016.
• "Debs v. United States." Oyez. Chicago-Kent College of Law at Illinois Tech, n.d. Sep 26, 2016. https://www.oyez.org/cases/1900-1940/249us211
• "." Oyez. Chicago-Kent College of Law at Illinois Tech, n.d. Sep 26, 2016. https://www.oyez.org/cases/1918/437
• "Brandenburg v. Ohio." Oyez. Chicago-Kent College of Law at Illinois Tech, n.d. Sep 26, 2016. https://www.oyez.org/cases/1968/492
• "Brandenburg v Ohio." Brandenburg v Ohio;http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/brandenburg.html. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2016
• "Morse v. Frederick." Oyez. Chicago-Kent College of Law at Illinois Tech, n.d. Sep 26, 2016. https://www.oyez.org/cases/2006/06-278
• "MORSE v. FREDERICK." MORSE v. FREDERICK; Https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/06-278.ZS.html. N.p., 2007. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.
• David S. Bogen, The Origins of Freedom of Speech and Press, 42 Md. L. Rev. 429 (1983)
• "First Amendment." LII / Legal Information Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2016.
• “Freedom of Speech: General - Bill of Rights Institute." Bill of Rights Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2016.