1. Introduction to First Amendment Law

2. The 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.”

3. What else it means
Through the 14th Amendment, state and local governments must adhere to the 1st Amendment as well
“Unprotected” speech:
“fighting words”
Threats
Obscenities
Libel/slander
Perjury
Hate speech
Protected: “political speech”
No viewpoint discrimination

4. Question 1: Falsely shouting “Fire!” in a crowded theater

5. Can the Government Punish?
Classic example of unprotected speech
Sort of like perjury
Schenck v U.S.
“The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely yelling ‘fire’ in a theater and causing a panic.” 249 U.S. 47 (1919)

6. Question 2: Wearing a shirt with an expletive

7. Can the Government Punish?
A man was arrested in California during the Vietnam war for a similar shirt
Cohen v. California
“Absent a more particularized and compelling reason for its actions, the State may not, consistently with the First and Fourteenth Amendments, make the simple public display here involved of this four-letter expletive a criminal offense.” 402 U.S. 15 (1971)

8. Question 3: Burning the American flag

9. Can the Government Punish?
Can the government make flag burning illegal?
On multiple occasions, the Supreme Court has held that burning is protected speech
U.S. v. Eichman (1990), Texas v. Johnson (1989)
Government cannot ban an idea just because it is disagreeable

10. Question 4: Burning a cross

11. Can the Government Punish?
Crosses burned in the yard of an African American family by white supremicists
Virginia v. Black
Supreme Court cannot ban all cross burning except when the motive is to intimidate (considered unprotected: a threat)

12. Question 5: Punishing on-campus speech

13. First Amendment Law and Students
Courts view schools as a setting “with special government interests”
Can regulate speech more closely
Student suspended for assembly speech with “an elaborate, graphic, and explicit sexual metaphor.” Bethel School Dist. V. Fraser
Students can protest with arm bands in school
Tinker v. Des Moines School Dist. (1969)
General Test: Schools may ban “speech or action that intrudes upon the work of the schools.”

14. Question 6: Punishing off-campus speech

15. Question 7: Banning hate groups from holding rallies/demonstrations