Jose adame-RMZ Forensics 11.5 Butler V. Michigan Jose adame-RMZ Forensics 11.5

The 1st Amendment What is the 1st 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.” This, in summary, provides freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition

Exceptions The 1st amendment has exceptions to each specific right Specifically, the freedom of speech is null when it comes to Obscenity Fighting Words Defamation Child Pornography Perjury Blackmail True Threats Solicitations to Commit Crime Incitement to Imminent Lawless Action

What Determines Obscenity? Obscenity has most recently been defined by Butler V. Michigan in 1957. Michigan convicted Butler for selling to an officer an "obscene" book that might corrupt the morals of a minor.

Decision The Supreme Court unanimously reversed, in an opinion by Justice Frankfurter, who declared that the statute was not restricted to the evil with which it dealt; it reduced adults "to reading only what is fit for children," thereby curtailing their first amendment rights The officer’s views were rejected because banning a book that a child may read and be negatively influenced by is “to burn the house to roast the pig”

Works Cited Cornell University Law Legal Information Institute www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/first_amendment First Amendment Center www.firstamendmentcenter.org/faq/frequently-asked-questions- speech Encyclopedia.com http://www.encyclopedia.com/politics/encyclopedias-almanacs- transcripts-and-maps/butler-v-michigan-352-us-380-1957