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Elonis vs United States
Elonis wrote explicit lyrics about violent themes relating to his ex-wife and his coworkers. His boss found these and immediately fired him, along with contacting the FBI to investigate his intent. He was charged for these remarks with the idea of intent to go through with it. However, he did not intend to. The Court found that the evidence wasn't legitimate enough to properly convict him. -
Heffernan vs City of Paterson
Heffernan was a police officer working in the office of Paterson. He was seen holding a campaign sign and was demoted from detective to patrol officer. Heffernan filed suit since his superiors did not speak to him about the incident prior to his demotion. The Court ruled that a public employee is protected under the first amendment if the employer issued a demotion to limit speech. -
Metal, Interim Director, United States Patent and Trademark Office Vs Tam
Tam, singer of rock group "The Slants", was denied an application to trademark his bands name due to disparage to disrepute a persons. Tam contested the denial through appeals, to no avail. The Court decided the disparagement clause was unconstitutional under the First Amendment. -
Packingham vs North Carolina
North Carolina law makes it a felony for a registered sex offender to access a commercial social networking website where the sex offender knows that the site permits minor children to become members or to create and maintain a personal website. The state has prosecuted over 1,000 people for violating the law, including the petitioner. The Court ruled that North Carolina law prohibiting this violates the First Amendment, due to the prominence of social media in modern communication. -
Masterpiece Cakeshop vs Colorado
The owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, Jack Phillips, refused to make the order of a wedding cake for a same sex couple. He said it was against his religion. The outcome was that Phillips could not uphold his religious beliefs in a commercial establishment. -
Union vs Janus
Janus, a public sector employee, refused to pay union fees due to not wanting to join. But, he was charged regardless of joining or not. The Court found mandatory fees for public employees violate the First Amendment, even if it's just for collective bargaining services. -
Lozman vs City of Riviera Beach, Florida
Lozman was very critical of the council's decisions. At a council meeting, Lozman spoke about the issues he had with the city. He was asked to leave the podium and he refused. He was then arrested for failing to follow council procedure. He filed a suit alleging the City's purpose was to harass and intimidate him. The Court's decided the arrest was unjust and that there was probable cause but it was retaliation against Lozman's protected speech under the First Amendment. -
Minnesota Voters Alliance vs Mansky
Minnesota law prohibited wearing any political apparel at/near a polling place. Violators are subject to civil penalties or prosecution for a petty misdemeanor. The Court turned down the law prohibiting this under the grounds of freedom of expression in the First Amendment. -
National Institute of Family and Life Advocates vs California
California law required "pro-life" pregnancy centers to provide notices about the availability of abortion services. However, the Court found this law violating the first amendment. -
Trump vs Hawaii
The issue was that Hawaii would not accept Trumps proclamation to ban immigrant Muslims from entering the United States. The courts found the Trump administration can implement an immigration ban despite evidence that the ban was originally constructed with the intent to discriminate against Muslim.