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Schenck v United States
Schenck encouraged people to peacefully disobey their draft notices because he said it was in violation of the 13th amendment. He was charged with violating the Espionage Act by obstructing military recruitment. Schenck then said that the Espionage act was in violation of the first amendment right to freedom of speech. It was decided that it was not in violation because the government should be given more leniency during wartime. -
Engel v Vitale
The Supreme Court ruled that a daily prayer in a public school in New York was in violation of the Establishment clause of the first amendment. The government was breaching the wall between church and state by including a prayer, even if a specific religion was not named and participation was not mandatory. -
Brandenburg v. Ohio
A leader of the KKK in Ohio was arrested after making a speech at a rally. Ohio's criminal syndicalism law made it illegal to advocate for unlawful methods of terrorism. The Supreme Court decided that the law violated his right to free speech. The criminal syndicalism failed to specify if the teaching would actually result in illegal activity and that made the law too broad and in violation of the Constitution. -
Pickering v. Board of Education
After the school board rejected a proposal to increase school taxes, Marvin Pickering wrote a letter to the editor of the Lockport Herald complaining about it. The school fired him after saying that it was detrimental to the efficiency of the administration of the school. Marvin sued, saying that his letter was protected under freedom of speech. The Supreme Court backed him up, saying that nothing in his letter was "false" or "reckless". -
New York Times Company v. United States
The Nixon Administration tried to block major newspapers from publishing classified Department of Defense materials from US activity in Vietnam. The Supreme Court decided that newspapers could publish these without government censorship. The first amendment guaranteed freedom of press could not be abridged. -
Wisconsin v Yoder
Members of the Amish religion were prosecuted for removing their children from school after 8th grade. They said that attending high school was in violation of their religion. The Supreme Court ruled that freedom of religion from the first amendment outweighs the states need to compel secondary education. -
Lynch v. Donnelly
In the city of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, a nativity scene was included in Christmas display in the city's shopping district. Daniel Donnelly took offense and sued the mayor of the city for violating the establishment clause of the first amendment. The Supreme Court sided with Lynch and said that it was not in violation because the scene represented the history of the holiday. It was decided that it was not a purposeful attempt to advocate for one specific religion. -
Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser
Matthew Fraser was suspended from school for 2 days after using a graphic sexual metaphor while nominating a friend to a leadership position. The courts ruled that the school had the right to prohibit profane or obscene language or gestures. It was not in violation of his freedom of speech because it disrupted the educational process. -
Van Orden v. Perry
Thomas Van Orden sued the state of Texas saying that a monument of the 10 commandments should not be on a state capitol building. He argued that it was in violation of the Establishment Clause because the government was endorsing a religion. The Supreme Court did not believe it was in violation because Texas was recognizing the historical significance of the 10 commandments. It was decided that just having religious content was not in violation. -
Morse v. Frederick
When Joseph Fredrick held up a poster at school that said "Bong hits 4 Jesus", he was suspended for 10 days. He sued his principal, saying that his right to freedom of speech was protected by the first amendment, using Tinker v. Des Moines as precedent. Lower courts sided with Frederick because he was punished for his message, not for any perceived disturbance. The Supreme Court reversed the decision and sided with Morse because his message undermined the school's message to discourage drug use
