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Whitney vs. California
Charlotte Anita Whitney, was a member of the Communist Labor Party of California, was arrested under the state's Criminal Syndicalism Act. She was prosecuted for advocating, teaching, or aiding the commission of a crime, including terrorism. People said that they were going over her first Amendment rights, but the state of California said that the first amendment was not an absolute right. The court said the state can punish those who endanger the foundations of organized government. -
Near vs. Minnesota
Jay Near wrote a scandal sheet about how local officials in Minneapolis were implicated with gangsters. The officials were able to not make Near publish his newspaper under a state law that allowed such action against periodicals. This was against Near's first amendment, so he sent them to court. The Supreme Court said that the government could not censor a publication in advance, even though the communication might be punishable after publication in a criminal or other proceeding. -
Thornhill vs. Alabama
Thornhill decided to join a picket line that was protesting against his former boss. In Alabama though the state law made it an offense to picket. Then Thornhill was arrested and then was fined $100. Thornhill was the only picketer to be arrested and tried under the law, so he took this to court. The court then decided that this Alabama law was facially invalid. Then the court said that there was no clear and present danger to labor picketing, this deserved First Amendment protection. -
Minersville School District vs. Gobitis
Lillian and William Gobitas were expelled from the public schools of Minerville, Pennsylvania. They were expelled for not saluting the flag which was done everyday by the school. These children were Jehovah's Witnessess, and they said that such a gesture of respect for the flag was forbidden by Biblical commands. The Court said that it was mandatory to salute the flag because the flag was an important symbol of national unity and could be a part of legislative initiatives. -
Chaplinsky vs. New Hampshire
Chaplinsky was a Jehovah's witness and he got into an argument with a city Marshal. He used fighting words toward the Marshal, and then was arrested. Chaplinsky's first amendment right was not violated because he used these fighting words to show violence, so he was not protected. -
Epperson vs. Arkansas
Epperson is a teacher that teaches at a public school. The state said that no school can teach the theory of human evolution. Epperson sued because she said that it went against her first amendment. The court said that she is write and they reversed the law to where they cant teach human evolution. -
New York Times Company vs. United States
The New York Times Company wanted to write about the Pentagon Papers Case, but the Nixon Administration attempted to prevent them from righting about this case. The administration said that they could not write about this because the materials belonged to a classified Defense Department study. Justices Black and Douglas argued that the word "security" should be used to abrogate the fundamental law embodied in the First Amendment. -
Wisconsin vs. Yoder
Jonas Yoder, Wallace Miller, and Adin Yutzy were prosecuted by the state of Wisconsin. The state of Wisconsin said that every kid in Wisconsin has to go to school until the age of 16. These three parents said that it goes against their amish religion that they send their children to school after the 8th grade. The Court said that this law did go again the first amendment of freedom of religion. -
Miller vs. California
Miller started a mass mailing campaign that advertised the sale of "adult" material. He was later convicted of violating a California statute. Also some recipients of Millers advertisement complained to the police. The court said that with Millers obscene materials did not apply to the first amendment of the right to free speech. This means that Miller was not protected by the first amendment. -
Nebraska Press Association vs. Stuart
A state trial judge was dealing with a case about a widely publicized murder trial. He ordered that the members of the press could not publish or broadcast the accounts of confessions made by the accused to the police. The court agreed that the judge went against the fist amendment about not letting the press broadcast this even though they agreed that it would cause trouble. They said it may cause trouble but you can stop a whole place from talking about the case. -
New York vs. Ferber
New York made a law that said that there will not be any one from knowingly promoting sexual performances by children under the age of sixteen. The court said that this law did not go against the first amendment because the court wanted to protect the children from the mental, physical, and sexual abuse associated with pornography. -
Snyder vs. Phelps
The family of deceased Marine Lance Cpl. Mathew Snyder filed for a lawsuit against members of the Westboro Baptist Church. What they did was picketed the funeral and said negative things about the soldier because he was gay. The court said that the first amendment shields those who stage a protest at the funeral of the military service member from liability. This means that the church was protected by the first amendment, even though this was a wrong thing they have done.
