-
Patterson vs. Colorado (1907)
The Supreme Court held a citation against a newspaper publisher who printed articles and had made cartoons that criticized a decision that was made by the Colorado Supreme court. The 14th amendment had come into conversation where all people were equal, have equal protection of laws and none should be deprived of their rights The court decided that it didn’t have the jurisdiction and had dismissed the writ of error for the case. -
Schneck vs US
Schneck was accused of telling draftees to go against the draft and to not be intimidated by it. Justice Holmes had written that not all speech is protected by the first amendment such as saying “fire” in a crowded theater since it causes danger and harm to others. Using your speech in this way was deemed dangerous and it was stated that Congress has a right to prevent these dangers. -
Near vs Minnesota
Jay Near and Howard Guilford had accused officials of having ties with gangsters in the Minneapolis newspaper. The Minnesota officials sought to prevent the press in that it had violated the Public Nuisance Law which closed down newspapers deemed scandalous. The State Supreme Court had upheld the temporary injunction and the permanent one that was issued from the trial court. Chief Justice Charles Hughes opinion on the matter was that the statute imposing the injunction was unconstitutional. -
Cox vs New Hampshire
New Hampshire state statute prohibited parades, gatherings, etc. on public areas without a license granted by the town selectman. On July 8th 1939, Willis Cox and others had gathered in Manchester New Hampshire to have an “Information march.” They didn't have their proper permits.They were convicted of breaking the statutes. The court held that a municipality's ability to impose regulations that create order and safety for its populace don't infringe on the civil liberties of its people. -
Stone vs Graham
Sydell Stone had challenged a Kentucky state law that had required that you have the Ten Commandments posted in each public school. They had filed a lawsuit against James Graham, the superintendent of the high school. The court ruled that Kentucky law had violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment which prevents the government from establishing an official religion. -
McDonald v. Smith
Court had held that the right to petition does not provide immunity David Smith brought a libel suit against Robert McDonald saying he had included lies to the president concerning Smith’s appointment as a US attorney. The issue was whether or not the right to petition the government granted immunity. The court had decided that the right to petition was under the same limitations as the rights to speech and press. This meant that claims made in the original letter are subject to libel lawsuits -
Poling vs Murphy
Plaintiff Dean Poling, a candidate for Unicoi High School student council presidency. He was then removed from the election bc he said bad remarks during a school assembly. He then filed an action against Ellis Murphy. Decided there was a distinction between personal expression and speech that is sponsored through the school. It was ruled that Poling’s 1st amendment rights were not violated bc they had expressed editorial control over a student's speech in a school sponsored expressive activity -
Thomas vs Chicago Park District
The Chicago Park District is responsible for operating public areas. The ordinance in Chicago had requested that you get a permit before having any large scale public event. The windy city hemp development board had applied for permits several times and were rejected before the board had filed suit saying that the ordinance was unconstitutional. The court had ruled that the licensing theme was not based on subject (censorship) but rather content (time, place, etc) and was constitutional -
Morse vs. Frederick
Joseph Frederick had held up a banner with the message “Bong Hits 4 Jesus” and his principal Deborah had taken away the banner and had said it was against school policy. Frederick had sued under the civil rights statute stating that he was having his first amendment rights violated. Because Frederick was punished for his message, the court ruled that the punishment was unconstitutional. They had decided that the speech rights of students is not as extensive as the ones that adults have. -
US vs Alveraz
Xavier Alveraz was a member of the water district board in California and he said he had the Congressional medal of honor. This was not true and federal prosecutors charged him with the Stolen Valor Act but Alvarez’s Lawyers had said that this was invalid bc of the first amendment. Alveraz appealed the first Amendment issue and it was ruled in a vote of 2-to-1 unconstitutional. The court went to the Supreme Court and said the Stolen Valor Act was constitutional in a vote of 2 to 1.
