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Reynolds Vs. United States
A case of U.S. Supreme Court that held that religious duty wasn't a defense to a criminal indictment. "Every person having a husband or wife living, who marries another, where the U.S. has jurisdiction, is guilty of bigamy, and shall be punished by a fine < $500, and by imprisonment for a term of < 5 years." Reynolds argued overturn of his conviction because the First Amendment protected the practice of his religion. He was sentenced to 2 years hard labor in prison and a fine of $500. -
Grosjean v. American Press Co.
U.S. Supreme Court decided separate sales tax on newspapers with circulation of over 20,000 was unconstitutional. Louisiana Governor Huey Long's administration levied a 2% receipts tax on newspapers that were critical of him. The 13 newspapers impacted by the tax all sued in federal court. The Supreme Court found the tax unconstitutional saying that states could charge customary taxes on media but higher taxes violated the First Amendment. -
Hague v. Committee for Industrial Organization
In 1937, Mayor Frank Hague had used a city ordinance to stop the distribution of literature pertaining to the Committee for Industrial Organization's cause by referring to the CIO as "communist." The CIO brought the suit against the mayor for these actions. Hague appealed to the Supreme Court which ruled against him and held that Hague's ban on political meetings violated the First Amendment right to freedom of assembly, and so the ordinances were void. -
Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire
On 6 April 1940, Walter Chaplinsky was passing out pamphlets calling organized religion a "racket." A police officer arrested him. He was convicted under a New Hampshire statute forbidding intentionally offensive speech directed at others in a public place. Chaplinsky claimed that the law violated his First Amendment rights to free speech. The Court upheld the arrest and articulated the fighting words doctrine, a limitation of the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech. -
Yates v. United States
It was a U.S Supreme Court Case that decided that the First Amendment protected radical speech, unless it posed a "clear danger." 7 officials of the Communist Party USA were charged with violating the Smith Act (unlawful to organize the overthrow of the.government) because they were engaged in passive political activities. The Court ruled 6–1 to overturn the convictions recognizing that stating that the term "organize" meant to form an organization, not to take action on behalf of it. -
Cox V. Louisiana
Supreme Court case that held that the government can't use "breach of the peace" statute against peaceful protesters. The picketing of a segregated restaurant led to the arrest of 23 students from Southern University. B.Elton Cox led a protest of 2,000 people at the courthouse.The police used tear gas to disperse them and Cox was arrested. A film of the protest showed that it was peaceful until the police joined in and thus, the court concluded that the breach of peace conviction did not stand. -
Brandenburg v. Ohio
The Court held that government can't punish inflammatory speech unless that speech is "directed to inciting lawless action." Clarence Brandenburg, a KKK leader in rural Ohio, asked Cincinnati television station to cover a KKK rally in 1964. It was filmed showing men making speeches that claimed that "our President, our Supreme Court, continues to suppress the white race." Brandenburg was convicted under Ohio's criminal syndicalism statute and was fined $1,000 and sentenced to 10 years in prison. -
Cohen v. California
Court case that deals with freedom of speech. On April 26, 1968, 19-year-old Paul Cohen was arrested for wearing a jacket displaying the phrase "F*** the Draft" in the public corridors of a courthouse. The Court overturned a man's conviction for the crime of disturbing the peace by stating that it was not presented with any evidence suggesting that the speech was likely to cause an incitement to violence and that while it was a closer call, the rationale was not sufficient. -
United States Civil Service Commission v. National Association of Letter Carriers
The Hatch Act barred federal employees from taking part in political campaigns. In 1971, 6 federal employees of the National Association of Letter Carriers, and 6 local Democratic and Republican political committees filed a suit against the Hatch Act saying that the law violated their First Amendment rights and was unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court concluded that the Hatch Act of 1939 did not violate the First Amendment, and its implementing regulations was not unconstitutionally vague. -
Gertz v. American Opinion
The case of the U.S. Supreme Court that held that the First Amendment protected against defamation claims brought by individuals. In 1968, a Chicago police officer shot and killed a young man. He was convicted of second-degree murder. American Opinion claimed that the officer had been framed at his criminal trial by victim's lawyer Gertz. Gertz filed suit against them claiming its article had defamed him. The court, realizing that he wasn't a public figure, asked the jury to award him $50,000. -
44 Liquormart, Inc. v. Rhode Island
In 1956, the Rhode Island Legislature passed a regulation that prevented in and out-of-state manufacturers from advertising the price of any alcoholic beverage offered for sale. In 1985, a liquor mart filed a suit arguing that the regulation was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court case held that the ban on the advertising of alcohol prices was unconstitutional under the First Amendment. -
Snyder v. Phelps
On March 3, 2006, U.S. Marine Corporal Matthew A. Snyder was killed in an accident in Iraq .On March 10, Westboro Baptist Church picketed his funeral in protest of homosexuality saying "You're going to hell" and published statements on its website stating the parents "raised him for the devil." The Supreme Court ruled that speech on a matter of public concern, cannot be the basis of liability for emotional distress, even when it's viewed as "offensive" and awarded Snyder US$10,900,000.
