essential question how does the constitution protect citizen rights?
TRANSCRIPT
Seditious Speech
• Any speech urging resistance to lawful authority or advocating the overthrow of the government
Court Guidelines
• Three constitutional tests to establish limits on speech:
a. The clear and present danger rule
b. The bad tendency doctrine
c. The preferred position doctrine
Schenck v. United States (1919)
• Schenck urged draftees to obstruct the war effort in WWI
• During wartime this speech threatened the well-being of the nation
The Bad Tendency Doctrine
• Gitlow v. New York (1925)
• Speech restricted if it had a tendency to lead to illegal action
Preferred Position Doctrine
• First Amendment freedoms hold a preferred position over competing interests
• Government must show limiting them is absolutely necessary
Brandenberg v. Ohio
• KKK leader arrested for refusing to end a rally and cross burning
• Court ruled in his favor as there was no evidence his speech intended to create immediate acts of violence
Defamatory Speech
• 1st Amendment does not protect false speech that damages a person’s name
• Slander – spoken• Libel - written
“Fighting Words”
• Words so insulting they provoke immediate violence
• Do not constitute free speech
Freedom of the Press
• At times the right of the press to gather and publish information conflicts with other rights
Prior Restraint
• Censoring of the press by government
• Can only occur in cases related to national security
Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union (1997)
• Internet speech deserves the same First Amendment protection as print media
DeJonge v. Oregon (1937)
• DeJonge was convicted of holding a Communist Party meeting
• Conviction overturned as peaceful assembly for discussion
Cox v. New Hampshire (1941)
• A city can require a parade permit in order to march because of safety to citizens
Grayned v. City of Rockford
• Upheld a ban on demonstrations near schools that were intended to disrupt classes
The Skokie Case (1977)
• The American Nazi Party planned to hold a rally in a Jewish suburb of Chicago
• Court allowed the march