The First Amendment guarantees people the right to express themselves through speech and writing – Allows everyone to hear opinions and ideas of others People have to have information and discussion to make best choices on public issues

Freedom of the Press Allows people to write their opinions as well as speak them Ways ideas can be presented – Newspaper – Magazines – Pamphlets – Online – On TV – On the radio

The press can present what it believes to be true because it is owned by private groups or individuals

Limits to Freedom of Expression Cannot print or broadcast material that damages someone’s reputation or reveals national security secrets Libel – Use of false or unjust statements in WRITING Slander – SPOKEN use of false or unjust statements

Seditious Speech Sedition—an effort to overthrow or harm the government through violence Seditious speech—speech that encourages an effort to overthrow or harm the government using violence This is not protected by the 1 st Amendment

The Espionage Act Passed during WWI Made it illegal to encourage disloyalty to the military Made it illegal to speak or print disloyal statements about the government

Obscenity Material that is considered indecent Difficult to determine what is indecent because of the difference of moral standards between people

Prior Restraint Placing a ban on written or spoken words before they happen First Amendment does not give this to the government Near v. Minnesota – The state of Minnesota tried to stop the publication of a magazine or article that was intended to cause harm

Near v. Minnesota The Supreme Court ruled that the state could not prevent publication just because they thought something malicious would be printed – Had no proof of this

Some prior restraint has been upheld – CIA agents cannot ever publish information about the CIA without permission – School newspapers can be censored by school authorities

The Supreme Court has limits on the media – Reporters have to answer questions in grand jury investigations or criminal trials – Shield laws—give reporters some protection against having to reveal sources – Companies using public airwaves (radio and TV) have to have a license Cable stations have more freedoms than network stations

Symbolic Speech Ways to communicate without using words – Carrying a sign, facial expressions, picketing, etc. Has been censored by the Supreme Court – Burning crosses

Tinker v. Des Moines Students wore black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War School suspended them for not removing the armbands Supreme Court decided that the school violated the rights of the students

Commercial Speech Speech for business purposes Not protected by the Constitution until 1970s – Struck down law banning abortion advertisements – Struck down law banning prescription drug prices Some cases this can be banned – Cigarette ads outlawed in 1970 – False advertising not allowed