Amendment 1 Freedom of Speech And Press Objectives

Amendment 1 Freedom of Speech And Press

Objectives • Students will be able to: • Analyze the difference between freedom of speech and freedom of expression • Summarize how the courts have defined freedom of speech • Define symbolic speech and their limits • Explain the difference between obscene and offensive material

Free Expression • What exactly is it? • To guarantee each person a right of free expression, in the spoken and the written word, and by all other means of communication as well. • & To guarantee all persons a full, wideranging discussion of public affairs

So I can say anything right? • Wrong • You are not protected from the following things

What I’m not protected from • Seditious speech (Sedition= attempting to overthrow the government by force or to disrupt its lawful activities by violent acts) • A “Clear and Present Danger”

What Am I…. ? Threatening speech…. (i. e. I’m going to kill you, I’ll stomp a mud hole in you and walk it dry, I’ll pop your head like a grape, I’ll pop a cap in your…etc. . )

What am I…. ? • Libel- false and malicious use of printed words • Slander- false and malicious use of words

Hustler Magazine, Inc. v. Falwell (1988) • The Hustler case is an important Supreme Court case in the history of FREE PRESS. • Hustler magazine published a liquor advertisement parody about Reverend Jerry Falwell. It contained extremely offensive material. • Since Falwell was a public figure he had to prove actual malice before the Supreme Court, which the court did not find. • The court ruled that political cartoons and satire, such as this parody, DO have a place in society and in free press. Although the material was outrageous and offensive to some, parody’s have played a major role in public and political debate, and are protected by the first amendment.

What am I…. ? • Malice is very hard to prove. In fact the burden of proof lies not in the one who spoke the words, but in the one the words were spoken about.

What Am I • Public Figures- Teachers, Celebrities, Government Officials, have the hardest time proving Slander and Libel

What am I…. ? • Obscenity • But what makes something obscene? • Miller v. California (1973)

What am I…. . ? • This ruling set specific guidelines for judging whether pornographic material was obscene and therefore not protected. The guidelines established that the standard for obscenity could be determined by local laws, not federal ones.

What am I…. ? • A restaurant manager and his mother received in the mail several advertisements for sexually graphic material. They took offense and notified the police. Miller was convicted and appealed to the Court.

What am I…. . ? • On a vote of 5 to 4 the Court established the following test • (1) the average person, applying modern community standards, finds it offensive

What am I…. ? • If the work showed or describe sexual activity in a way that is patently offensive • If the work has no redeeming artistic, literary, political, or scientific worth

When can the government stop speech? • Almost without exception, the government cannot place any prior restraint on speech.

So what is protected? • Everything except the prior exclusions we saw, as well as Symbolic Speech (flag burning, gestures, armbands {Tinker v. Des Moines pg. 559) & Commercial Speech (with some limitations).

Press and Media • Have the same guarantees as individuals, but are even more greatly protected • Confidentiality- Shield Laws (protection against having to disclose sources)

Press and Media • Motion Pictures- Pay to view, Ratings System • Radio & Television- FCC Federal communications commission, remember the idea of prior restraint. Cable vs. Network