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Schneck vs. United States
-Socialist Party activist Charles Schenck distributed fliers urging young men to dodge the draft during World War I.
-Supreme Court rules against Schenck. (Decision helped define limits of freedom of speech, creating the “clear and present danger” standard, explaining when the government is allowed to limit free speech. In this case, the Supreme Court viewed draft resistance as dangerous to national security.) -
Near vs. Minnesota
-Newspaper editor Jay Near attacked claimed in print that local officials were associated with gangsters, so they obtained an injunction to keep Near from publishing his paper under state law.
-The Supreme Court ruled that the law kept certain information from being published - a concept called prior restraint -- and violated the First Amendment. This case established the principle that the government can't censor or prohibit a publication in advance. -
West Virginia State Board of Education vs. Barnette
-During World War II, the WVBE passed a law requiring all students to salute the flag and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Several students and their parents who were Jehovah's Witnesses argued their religion prevented them from reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
-The Supreme Court struck down the West Virginia ordinance. They determined that students had the right not to be coerced by school administrators to doing something that disagreed with their religious beliefs. -
Bethel School District vs. Fraser
-A public school student was suspended for giving a speech at a school assembly that included repeated use of an “elaborate, graphic, and explicit sexual metaphor,” in reference to another student. He was suspended and banned from speaking at graduation. He sued the school for violating his right to free speech.
-The school did not violate the student’s rights. The 1st Amendment does not prevent a school district from disciplining a student for using speech that is lewd or indecent. -
Tinker vs. Des Moines Independent Community School District
-Three students were suspended for wearing black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War and refusing to remove them. They sued the district for violating their 1st Amendment rights.
-The school did violate the students’ rights. Non-disruptive, passive, symbolic speech cannot be censored just because it makes others uncomfortable. The Supreme Court established the "Tinker Test", (standard that public schools must meet before legally restricting free speech or expression of students). -
Branzburg vs. Hayes
-Reporter Paul Branzburg included interviews by several drug users in an article for the Louisville Courier-Journal. He was called in to testify about his sources before state grand juries investing drug crimes -- and refused.
-The Supreme Court found that forcing a reporter to testify before a grand jury won't violate their first amendment rights. The fact that reporters receive information in confidence doesn't give them the right to withhold that information in a government investigation. -
New York Times Co. vs. United States
-The Times got a copy of an internal Defense Department report about the Vietnam war. At the US government's request, the district court ordered the Times not to publish the documents, claiming it would endanger national security. The Times appealed, arguing that prior restraint (preventing publication) violated the First Amendment.
-The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Times, noting that "free.. press comes into collision with.. the effective functioning of a complex, modern government." -
Hazelwood School District vs. Kuhlmeier
-A public school principal removed two articles from the school newspaper because the he found their content (teen pregnancy/ divorce) objectionable. Kuhlmeier sued the school, claiming her 1st Amendment rights were violated.
-The school district did not violate the students' rights. Public educators are not in violation of the 1st Amendment when censoring school-sponsored publications, so long as their actions are reasonably related to educational concerns. -
Santa Fe Independent School DIstrict vs. Jane Doe
-A Texas school district allowed a student to lead a prayer over the public address system before home football games. Several students and their parents anonymously sued the school district, claiming a violation of their First Amendment rights.
-The Supreme Court ruled that the school district's policy regarding prayer was unconstitutional. The prayers were coercive because they placed students in the position of having to participate in religious ceremony. -
American Amusement Machine Association vs. Teri Kendrick
-City ordinance required video game arcade owners to limit access to games that depicted certain activities, including amputation, decapitation, dismemberment, bloodshed, or sexual intercourse. Only with the permission of an accompanying parent or guardian could children seventeen years old and younger play these types of video games.
-Court of Appeals reversed and remanded the trial court's decision stating that "children have First Amendment rights." -
Kings Mall vs. Wenk
-The defendants, who are veterans of the Armed Services, were protesting the government’s involvement in Iraq, and chose to protest at Kings Mall because a military recruitment center is located there. In September 2006, the plaintiffs filed a motion seeking a permanent injunction barring the defendants from the Mall. The plaintiffs alleged that the defendants were trespassing.
-The Supreme Court found that the defendants were engaging in constitutionally-protected protesting activities. -
Morse vs. Frederick
-A public school student was suspended for displaying a 14-foot banner that read: “BONG HiTS 4 JESUS.” The principal, Deborah Morse, confiscated the banner and suspended Frederick. Frederick sued the school, and the principal, for violating his rights.
-The school and principal did not violate his rights. Schools can regulate speech that conflicts with anti-drug policies, or similar school policies, even if it doesn’t directly disrupt the educational process, such as at school-sponsored event.
