First Amendment Rights

This course, formerly named Constitutional Law II, is a basic introduction to the free speech guarantee of the First Amendment. Among the topics to be studied are the special problems of particular kinds of speech including advocacy of violence as a political solution, libel, obscenity, hate speech, commercial speech and symbolic speech such as flag burning, particular techniques employed by the government to censor speech such as prior restraints, and time, place and manner restrictions, and access to public property including streets and parks to exercise rights of expression.

Required Text Spring 2012: Sullivan & Gunther, First Amendment Law (4th edition, 2010, Foundation Press, ISBN 978-1-59941-756-1)

Spring 2012 Syllabus

Spring 2012 Class Materials

Schenck, Frohwerk, and Debs

Snyder v. Phelps

In the Matter of the Welfare of R.A.V.

Excerpts from Briefs in R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul

United States v. Stevens

Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association

Excerpt from Bolger v. Youngs Drug Products Corp.

Excerpt from Zauderer v. Office of Disciplinary Counsel

Excerpt from Milavetz Concerning Zauderer

Excerpt from Hurley

Pleasant Grove City v. Summum

Supreme Court Watch

FCC v. Fox Television Stations, Inc. (whether the FCC's standards for indecency on television are too vague to be constitutional)

United States v. Alvarez (whether the Stolen Valor Act, which makes it a federal crime to falsely represent that you "have been awarded any decoration or medal authorized by Congress for the Armed Forces of the United States," violates the First Amendment)

Recent Supreme Court Cases

Perry v. Perez (Texas Redistricting Plan) (January 20, 2012)

Opinion in Snyder v. Phelps

United States v. Stevens

United States v. Stevens (edited version of opinion)

Milavetz, Gallop & Milavetz, P.C. v. United States

http://www.milavetzlaw.com/PracticeAreas/Bankruptcy.asp (Milavetz Law Firm Website)

Christian Legal Society v. Martinez

Doe v. Reed

Opinion in Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project

Other Class Materials

Excerpt from The People vs. Larry Flynt

Federal and State Obscenity Statutes

Obscenity Definitions

True Threats

Four R.A.V. Exceptions

St. Paul Ordinance

SUNY New Paltz Racist Signs

Westboro Baptist Church Protest

Hustler advertisement

Libel Standards

New York Times v. Sullivan Advertisement (picture)

New York Times v. Sullivan Advertisement (text)

Feiner's E-mails to Professor Linder

Fighting Words

Mike Vangerboegh Blog

Nuremberg Files

Brandenburg Test

Julian Bond in 2008

Video - He May Be A Communist

First Red Scare

Clear and Present Danger Test (from Schenck)

Schenck Flyer

Espionage Act of 1917

News Items

Stolen Valor Act Is Declared Unconstitutional by Circuit Court (Aug. 18, 2010)

Stolen Valor Act of 2005

Related Links

Exploring First Amendment Law by Professor Doug Linder

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment01/

http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/first_amendment.html

http://www.oyez.org

http://www.supremecourt.gov/

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/

http://www.thefirstamendment.org/

http://www.rcfp.org/handbook/

http://www.firstamendmentcoalition.org/

http://www.fepproject.org/

http://www.west.net/~smith/defamation.htm

http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/PieChart/