Constitutional Law Flashcards
(2 cards)
First Amendment
The Son’s expulsion from school violates the 1st Amendment of the Constitution as applied to the States by the 14th Amendment. The 1st Amendment of the Constitution provides for the freedom of speech from infringement by the government. The government generally may not regulate speech unless the regulation passes intermediate scrutiny, in that regulations of speech must be narrowly tailored to serve an important government interest. While the 1st Amendment only bars the Federal Government from taking actions, it is applied to the states under the 14th Amendment, and so the state is equally restrained. Not only does the 1st Amendment bar restrictions of speech, it bars compelled speech. This means that the government cannot force someone to make a statement orally or physically.
Time, Place and Manner Restrictions
Additionally, the Father’s 1st Amendment rights were possibly violated as well, but probably not because the regulation against leaflets may pass time, place and manner restrictions. A different standard is applied because he was engaging in speech activities in a public forum. Public forums are places that have traditionally been left open for speeches such as sidewalks and parks. In these places, the government may still regulate speech subject to time, place and manner restrictions. Under that test, the government (or state actor like a company town), may regulate speech so long as the regulation is narrowly tailored to serve an important governmental interest, other opportunities for speech are left open, and the regulations are content-neutral in that they do not prefer any specific preference concerning the message of the speech.
