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Petition of Rights
The Petition of Right is a statement of the objectives of the 1628 English legal-reform movement that leads to civil war and the deposing of King Charles I in 1649. This important document sets out the rights and liberties of the common man as opposed to the prerogatives of the crown and expresses many of the ideals that later led to the American Revolution. -
Freedom of Religion
The new Charter of Rhode Island grants religious freedom. -
John Peter Zenger
New York publisher John Peter Zenger is tried for libel after publishing criticism of the Royal Governor of New York. Zenger is defended by Andrew Hamilton and acquitted. His trial establishes the principle that truth is a defense to libel and that a jury may determine whether a publication is defamatory or seditious. -
Minersville School District v. Gobitis
The Court upholds a Pennsylvania flag-salute law in Minersville School District v. Gobitis by a vote of 8-1. A Jehovah’s Witness family that had two children in the public schools challenged their expulsion on First Amendment grounds.Only Chief Justice Harlan F. Stone dissented from the Court’s ruling, which would be overruled three years later. -
Dennis v. United States
In Dennis v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court upholds the convictions of 12 Communist Party members convicted under the Smith Act of 1940. The Court finds that the Smith Act, a measure banning speech which advocates the violent overthrow of the federal government, does not violate the First Amendment. -
Sherbert v. Verner
In Sherbert v. Verner, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that South Carolina officials violated the free-exercise rights of Seventh-day Adventist Adele Sherbert when they denied her unemployment-compensation benefits because she refused to work on Saturday, her Sabbath day. -
Epperson v. Arkansas
In Epperson v. Arkansas, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidates an Arkansas statute prohibiting public school teachers from teaching evolution. The Court finds that the statute violates the establishment clause because it bans the teaching of evolution for religious reasons. -
Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. Federal Communication Commission
In Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. Federal Communication Commission, the U.S. Supreme Court finds that Congress and the FCC did not violate the First Amendment when they required a radio or television station to allow response time to persons subjected to personal attacks and political editorializing on air. -
Cohen v. California
In Cohen v. California, the U.S. Supreme Court reverses the breach-of-peace conviction of an individual who wore a jacket with the words “F— the Draft” into a courthouse. The Court concludes that offensive and profane speech are protected by the First Amendment. -
Lloyd Corp. v. Tanner
In Lloyd Corp. v. Tanner, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that owners of a shopping center may bar anti-war activists from distributing leaflets at the center. The Court finds that citizens do not have a First Amendment right to express themselves on privately owned property. -
Minnesota v. White
The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Republican Party of Minnesota v. White that a provision prohibiting judicial candidates from announcing their views on disputed legal or political issues violates the First Amendment. -
Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association
In Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that video games are a form of speech protected by the First Amendment. The Court holds California’s law restricting the sale or rental of violent video games to minors is unconstitutional.
