1st Amendment

Question 1

Central focus of the 1st Amendment

Answer 1

the free expression of ideas

Question 2

The 1st Amendment provides

Answer 2

congress shall make no law no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peacefully to assemble, and to petition the goverment for a redress of grievances”

Question 3

The basic divide in free speech is between goverment regulations that regulate speech on the basis of

Answer 3

its context and those that regulate speech on a context-neutral basis

Question 4

content based regulations are generally

Answer 4

presumed to be void

Question 5

content based regulations are those that

Answer 5

do not aim at the suppression of ideas

Question 6

content neutral regulations are generally subject to

Answer 6

intermediate scrutiny

Question 7

content neutral regulations are generally valid if

Answer 7

they are reasonable, well suited to the achievement of a significant goverment interest, and leave open ample alternative channels of communication

Question 8

2 background principles of the 1st amendment

Answer 8

• The First Amendment only
  applies to the government.
• The text only tells us so much
  about how the First Amendment
  applies in practice.

Question 9

Purposes Behind First
Amendment’s Protection of Speech

Answer 9

1. Preserving a free marketplace of
   ideas.
2. Providing a check on government
   power.
3. Enabling the political process to
   work properly.
4. Lowering the stakes of elections.

Question 10

Viewpoint discrimination receives what kind of scruitny?

Answer 10

Viewpoint discrimination receives strict scrutiny
from courts.

Question 11

To survive strict scrutiny, the
government must show:

Answer 11

1. A compelling interest
2. The viewpoint discrimination was narrowly
   tailored.
3. The viewpoint discrimination is the least restrictive means of achieving the compelling interest.

Question 12

The First Amendment limits only

Answer 12

government actions
and does not dictate what private citizens do

Question 13

The First Amendment prohibits the government from
engaging in viewpoint discrimination AKA

Answer 13

punishing
speech because it disagrees with the message.

Question 14

The First Amendment protects speech most people find

Answer 14

offensive or wrong

Question 15

Can the persident write an executive order establishing a national religion?

Answer 15

no

Question 16

Does the 1st Amend. protect speech to threaten?

Answer 16

No

Question 17

Summary of the Law on Compelled Speech

Question 18

Summary of the Law on Compelled Speech

What, Why

Answer 18

What: The First Amendment generally
forbids the government to compel
speech.

Why: Concerns about tyranny, too-
powerful government, and desire to
protect unpopular minorities.

Question 19

Summary of the Law on Compelled Speech

Principals

Answer 19

1. “Speech” has been construed broadly by courts in many instances.
2. There is overlap between “free” exercise of religion and “free” speech.

Question 20

Cant force a group to allow people expressing opposite viewpoints

Answer 20

into their group

Question 21

Part of liberty is its ability to

Answer 21

exclude

Question 22

Does the 1st amendment protect the witness refusal to answer?

Answer 22

Contempt of court

Question 23

Summary of Unprotected Speech

What

Answer 23

Many categories of speech are outside the protection of the First Amendment. This includes
1. defamation/libel,
2. pornography/obscenity,
3. fighting words/incitement of crime/true threats.

Question 24

Summary of Unprotected Speech

Why

Answer 24

Courts have decided certain kinds of speech have a low value or are harmful.

Question 25

# What Counts as Pornography/Obscenity? Supreme Court Definition of Obscenity

Answer 25

ontemporary community standards would find the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest; (2) whether the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by the applicable state law; and (3) whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value. Prurient=having or encouraging an excessive interest in sexual matters.

Question 26

# Incitement/True Threats: The Law What

Answer 26

You can’t incite violence or make threats and use the First Amendment as a shield.

Question 27

# Incitement/True Threats: The Law why

Answer 27

We can’t have violence and need to preserve order.

Question 28

The First Amendment doesn’t protect many kinds of speech, including

Answer 28

1. defamation/libel 2. incitement/true threats 3. obscenity/pornography

Question 29

First Amendment: Three Rules to Live By

Answer 29

1. Treating certain viewpoints better or worse than others receives strict scrutiny and is generally disallowed. 2. Forcing someone to say something (compelled speech) gets strict scrutiny and is generally disallowed. 3. Some speech normally receives no First Amendment protection: libel/defamation, obscenity/pornography, incitement/true threats, and fighting words

Question 30

Viewpoint Discrimination Definition

Answer 30

Punishing or suppressing speech because the government disagrees with it or disapproves of it.

Question 31

viewpoint discrimination always subject to

Answer 31

strict scrutiny - generally disallowed

Question 32

Compelled speech always gets

Answer 32

strict scruiny - It does not matter how trivial you think the message is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Question 33

Courts have refused to give First Amendment protection to many kinds of speech because they deem them to be of low value:

Answer 33

▪Libel/defamation ▪Obscenity/pornography ▪Incitement/true threats ▪Fighting words

Question 34

First Amendment and Freedom of Religion/Establishment of Religion (3 points)

Answer 34

1. Laws or actions singling out religious conduct specifically are subject to strict scrutiny. Example: Banning the Quran or eating Matzos on Passover. 2. Government can CONSTITUTIONALLY enforce criminal laws that it would generally enforce even if that burdens a particular religion. Example: Banning mind-altering substances even if used in a particular religious practice. However, federal laws burdening religious practice are subject to strict scrutiny under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act even if they didn’t intentionally target religion. 3. Excluding people or institutions from public benefits the general public would get merely because they are religious gets strict scrutiny and is disallowed. Example: withholding grants for parking lot renovation because the institution is a synagogue.