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__An Introduction To The First Amendment__
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

I. Freedom of Speech: The Hustler v. Falwell
The Supreme Court ruled 8-0 that the “Free Speech” aspect of the First Amendment does not include monetary compensation for public figures that have had “emotional distress intentionally inflicted” upon them. In 1983, Jerry Falwell, a fundamentalist Protestant minister, was attacked in The Hustler. The Hustler is a nude men’s magazine that often features inappropriate pictures and articles. In the magazine, Falwell was featured in an ad for Campari, an alcoholic. However, the ad was a parody that mocked Falwell and defamed him by claiming he had an incestuous relationship with his mother. Falwell went on to sue Larry Flynt, the owner of The Hustler, and received $200,000 in compensation for his emotional suffering. After being taken to the Supreme Court, though, the jury reversed the verdict in favor of Flynt.

II. Freedom of Religion: Jaffree v. Wallace
In 1985, Ishmael Jaffree of Mobile, Alabama sued the Mobile Country School Board, claiming that his three children had been excluded by their classmates due to their lack of participation in prayers led by their teachers each morning. Ultimately, the court decided that this was a violation of what was established as the “Separation of Church and State” clause in a previous case. Ultimately, Jaffree v. Wallace reiterated the fact that religious beliefs cannot be imposed on citizens in a government sponsored setting.

III. Freedom of Petition: Tinker v. Des Moines
Three students in public schools in Des Moines Iowa wore black armbands to protest the Government’s policy in Vietnam. The school did not approve of the students’ silent and peaceful protest. John and his younger sister Mary Beth were suspended from school. In January of 1966, after returning to school from Christmas vacation, Mary Beth and John did not wear their armbands. However, their parents prepared to take the school to court for violating their children’s First Amendment rights. The court ruled 7-2 that students have the right to wear black armbands to school. They stated that since the petitioning did not disrupt the education of the students, the school could not ban or punish the petitioners. This was the beginning of the phrase, “Students or teachers do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” This is a huge case concerning the First Amendment because it determined that students and teachers still have their First Amendment rights even while at school.

IV. Freedom of Press: New York Times v. U.S.
The New York Times wrote an article about the Pentagon Papers and put it on the front page of the paper. President Nixon forced The New York Times to suspend publication of the information and its’ possession. The question that was presented before the court was weather or not freedom of the press was still granted when secret information from the Vietnam War was being released. It was a 6-3 decision and the Supreme Court ruled that The New York Times had the right to release the Pentagon Papers because it didn’t actually give away government secrets. This case affected the First Amendment because it made it possible for public newspapers to publish information about the government without risk of government censure within reason.

V. Freedom of Religion: Abington Township School District v. Schempp
Edward Schempp filed a suit against Abington School District under the Pennsylvania law that required public schools to have students listen to and read 10 verses from the Holy Bible at the beginning of each school day. Schempp’s children were required to hear and sometimes read the portions and Schempp said it violated his and his family’s rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The ruling was in Schempp’s favor and the school district appealed. While the appeal was pending the PA legislature allowed children to be excused from the daily exercises with parental request. This Supreme Court case separated Church and State under the First and Fourteenth Amendment and protected people’s rights to practice religion freely.

 VI. Freedom of Speech: Schenck v. United States
This was a United States Supreme Court case that took place in 1919. Charles Schenck was the Secretary of the Socialist Party of America and was responsible for printing and distributing mail to eligible men for the draft. During World War I, Schenck was vivid advocator for the opposition to the military draft. The documents handed out to draftees included statements such as "Do not submit to intimidation", "Assert your rights", "If you do not assert and support your rights, you are helping to deny or disparage rights which it is the solemn duty of all citizens and residents of the United States to retain.” For these printing and distributing anti-draft statements, Schenck was indicted and convicted of violating the Espionage Act of 1917. Schenck appealed to the US Supreme Court, arguing that the court decision violated his First Amendment rights, specifically the freedom of speech. The Court had a unanimous decision. It stated that Schenck's criminal conviction was constitutional. The First Amendment did not protect speech encouraging insubordination."When a nation is at war many things that might be said in time of peace are such a hindrance to its effort that their utterance will not be endured so long as men fight, and that no Court could regard them as protected by any constitutional right.” Ergo, the circumstances of wartime permit greater restrictions on free speech than would be allowable during peacetime.

**VII. Freedom of Petition: Texas v. Johnson **
This was an important decision by the Supreme Court in 1989. It invalidated prohibitions on desecrating the American flag, which was enforced in 48 of the states. There was a five-justice majority in holding that the defendant's act of flag burning was protected speech under the First Amendment in the U.S. Constitution. Gregory Johnson was a member of the Revolutionary Communist Youth Brigade. In protest to Reagan's policies, Johnson poured kerosene on the flag and set it on fire. Johnson was charged and convicted to one year in prison and a $2000 fine. He appealed his convictions and eventually his appeals reached the Supreme Court. The opinion of the court came down as a controversial 5-4 decision. The court found that, "Under the circumstances, Johnson's burning of the flag constituted expressive conduct, permitting him to invoke the First Amendment... Occurring as it did at the end of a demonstration coinciding with the Republican National Convention, the expressive, overtly political nature of the conduct was both intentional and overwhelmingly apparent." The court concluded that, while "the government generally has a freer hand in restricting expressive conduct than it has in restricting the written or spoken word," it may not "proscribe particular conduct because it has expressive elements."

VIII. Edwards v. South Carolina
Almost 200 African American students marched at the South Carolina State capitol, protesting segregation in South Carolina. They marched orderly and peacefully. There were about 300 spectators who all watched peacefully. No “fighting words” were used. However after about 15 minutes the police came to stop the protest. The protesters refused to leave an were therefore arrested for “breach of peace.” In 1963 the Supreme Court ruled in an 8-1 decision that by arresting, convicting, and punishing the protesters, South Carolina interfered with the citizens First Amendment rights. The Supreme Court decided, “The Fourteenth Amendment does not permit a state to make criminal the peaceful expression of unpopular views.” This court case shows that if someone is protesting in favor of an unpopular view they have the right to do so. The First Amendment protects all expression. Because the protest was peaceful and law abiding, if they had broken a law the protesters could have rightfully been arrested.

__**Interview with David Hudson, a scholar at the First Amendment Center**__
**Q. What is your opinion on how the First Amendment has changed since the Bill of Rights was rectified?** A. It has changed monumentally years and years of U.S. Supreme Court decisions

**Q. What do you think are some of the most important cases pertaining to the First Amendment and why?** A. New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964) – defamation cases, Miller v. California (1973) – obscenity, Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969) – incitement to imminent lawless action

**Q. How do you think the interpretation of the amendment will change in the future?** A. I think the Internet and more online speech cases will force the courts to examine new First Amendment controversies.

**Q. What part of the First Amendment do you feel poses the most controversy?** A. Hate speech

**Q. What loopholes or faults do you see in the amendment?** A. Occasionally interpretations by Supreme Court justices and lower court judges

**Q. What ways would you personally change the First Amendment?** A. I wouldn’t change the wording at all --- just occasionally the interpretations.