1. Landmark First Amendment Cases
SHS Social Studies

2. First…
FREE SPEECH & EXPRESSION CASES

3. Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969)
• Centered on Channel 9‘s
coverage of a KKK rally
• Lots of guns and hate
speech
• Brandenburg announced
a march to Washington
• He advocated a crime
• Ruling: government
cannot constitutionally
punish abstract advocacy
of force or law violation

4. Miller v. California (1973)
• Miller sent out junk mail
advertising his ―adult‖ material
catalogue
• Obscene material: not protected
by 1st Amendment
• Miller Test:
– appeals to the prurient interest
– work depicts/describes, in a
patently offensive way, sexual
conduct,
– lacks serious literary, artistic,
political or scientific value
• Justice Stewart: ―I‘ll know it
when I see it‖

5. Texas v. Johnson (1989)
• Johnson burned USA
flag at an anti-
government rally
during the 1984
Republican convention
• Texas law made this
illegal
• This is protected
speech—part of a
political protest

6. Reno v. ACLU (1997)
• Communication
Decency Act (CDA)
regulated explicit
material on the Internet
• Criminal Act: broadcast
"obscene or indecent―
material or anything
else that violates
community standards to
those under 18
• Declared
unconstitutional (too
broad of a law)

7. Next…
FREE PRESS CASES

8. New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964)
• NY Times ad asking for $ to
defend MLK in a perjury case
• Detailed actions taken by law
enforcement against Civil
Rights workers
• Some facts were wrong
• Sullivan (Chief of Police in
Montgomery) claimed
defamation
• Ruling: have to show ―actual
malice‖ to prove defamation

9. New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)
• Times started
publishing Pentagon
Papers
• Critical study of ‗Nam
by the Defense Dep‘t
• US sought restraining
order to stop publishing
• Argument: national
defense
• Ruling: This is a prior
restraint

10. Finally…
FREE RELIGION CASES

11. State Aid to Religion???
• Everson v. Board of Education (1947): Busing to
religious school is legal (furthers education not
religion)
• Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971): 3 part test:
– Law must have a secular legislative purpose
– Can’t advance or inhibit religion
– Must not result in an "excessive government
entanglement" with religion
• Edwards v. Aguillard (1987): Teaching
Creationism in public schools violate Amendment
I
• Intelligent Design too (2005 Appeals Court
ruling)