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First 10 Amendments
The first 10 amendments were added, including what we refer to as the first, freedom of speech. -
Schnek v. United States
Freedom of speech can be limited during wartime. The government can restrict expressions that “would create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent. -
Gitlow v. New York
The Supreme Court applied protection of free speech to the states through the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. -
Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire
The First Amendment did not protect “fighting words” which, by being said, cause injury or cause an immediate breach of the peace -
Tinker v. Des Moines
The Court ruled that students wearing black armbands to protest the Vietnam War was “pure speech,” or symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment -
Brandenburg v. Ohio
The Supreme Court held that the First and Fourteenth Amendments protected speech advocating violence at a Ku Klux Klan rally because the speech did not call for “imminent lawless action.” -
Cohen v. California
A California statute prohibiting the display of offensive messages violated freedom of expression. -
Miller v. California
This case set forth rules for obscenity prosecutions, but it also gave states and localities flexibility in determining what is obscene -
Island Trees School District v. Pico
The Supreme Court ruled that officials could not remove books from school libraries because they disagreed with the content of the books’ messages. -
Texas v. Johnson
Flag burning as political protest is a form of symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment. -
R.A.V. v. St. Paul
A criminal ordinance prohibiting the display of symbols that “arouse anger, alarm or resentment in others on the basis of race, color, creed, religion or gender” was unconstitutional. The law violated the First Amendment because it punished speech based on the ideas expressed. -
Watchtower Bible and Tract Society v. Stratton
City laws requiring permits for political advocates going door to door were unconstitutional because such a mandate would have a “chilling effect” on political communication -
Virginia v. Hicks
Richmond could ban non-residents from public housing complexes if the non-residents did not have “a legitimate business or social purpose” for being there. The trespass policy was not overbroad and did not infringe upon First Amendment rights. -
Morse v. Frederick
The First Amendment did not protect a public school student’s right to display a banner reading “Bong Hits 4 Jesus”. While students have the right to engage in political speech, the right was outweighed by the school’s mission to discourage drug use.