All flashcards
Flashcard 1: What does 'prior restraint' mean in legal terms?
Answer: Censorship imposed before speech is made public. Government censorship before publication violates presumption against restraint.
Flashcard 2: What is the significance of Citizens United v. FEC (2010)?
Answer: Allowed corporate funding of political broadcasts. Ruled corporate political spending is protected speech, not regulable conduct.
Flashcard 3: What is the 'time, place, and manner' restriction?
Answer: Government can regulate speech based on time, place, manner. Allows reasonable limits on when, where, and how speech occurs.
Flashcard 4: Which case protected symbolic speech as a form of free speech?
Answer: Tinker v. Des Moines (1969). Students wearing black armbands to protest Vietnam War were protected.
Flashcard 5: What is the significance of Texas v. Johnson (1989)?
Answer: Protected flag burning as symbolic speech. Established flag desecration as protected political expression despite controversy.
Flashcard 6: What is a 'limited public forum'?
Answer: Public property opened for specific expressive activities. Government designates certain spaces for expressive use with some restrictions.
Flashcard 7: Is defamation protected by the First Amendment?
Answer: No, it is not protected. False statements harming reputation receive no constitutional protection.
Flashcard 8: What are the two types of defamation?
Answer: Libel and slander. Libel is written defamation; slander is spoken defamation.
Flashcard 9: Identify a case that addressed fighting words.
Answer: Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire (1942). Established that insulting words directed at individuals lack protection.
Flashcard 10: Are fighting words protected under the First Amendment?
Answer: No, they are not protected. Exception to First Amendment for words that tend to incite breach of peace.
Flashcard 11: Identify a case that addressed defamation and free speech.
Answer: New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964). Required actual malice standard for public figures in defamation cases.
Flashcard 12: What is 'incitement'?
Answer: Speech encouraging illegal action. Speech directed at producing imminent lawless action receives no protection.
Flashcard 13: Under what conditions can 'time, place, and manner' restrictions be applied?
Answer: Must be content-neutral, narrowly tailored, serve significant interest. Requirements ensure regulations don't target specific messages or viewpoints.
Flashcard 14: What is 'content neutrality' in speech regulation?
Answer: Laws that do not favor or disfavor any speech content. Regulations must focus on conduct, not the message being conveyed.
Flashcard 15: Identify a case that dealt with content neutrality.
Answer: Ward v. Rock Against Racism (1989). Upheld noise regulations for concerts as content-neutral time/place/manner restrictions.
Flashcard 16: Define 'public forum' in the context of free speech.
Answer: Government property open for public expression. Traditional venues like parks and sidewalks have strongest speech protections.
Flashcard 17: Is incitement protected under the First Amendment?
Answer: No, it is not protected. Speech advocating immediate illegal action falls outside First Amendment protection.
Flashcard 18: What is 'prior restraint' in the context of free speech?
Answer: Government action to prohibit speech before it occurs. Preventing publication is generally unconstitutional except in extreme circumstances.
Flashcard 19: Which Supreme Court case addressed prior restraint in 1971?
Answer: New York Times Co. v. United States. Pentagon Papers case rejected government censorship of Vietnam War documents.
Flashcard 20: What is 'hate speech'?
Answer: Speech that demeans based on race, religion, or other traits. Offensive speech targeting identity groups but still generally protected.
Flashcard 21: Is hate speech protected under the First Amendment?
Answer: Yes, unless it incites violence or constitutes a true threat. First Amendment protects offensive speech unless it creates imminent danger.
Flashcard 22: Identify a case that dealt with hate speech and the First Amendment.
Answer: R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul (1992). Court struck down ordinance banning bias-motivated symbols as content-based.
Flashcard 23: What is the 'Miller test'?
Answer: Test for determining what constitutes obscene material. Three-part standard examining appeal, patently offensive nature, and value.
Flashcard 24: Which case established the 'Miller test'?
Answer: Miller v. California (1973). Created current three-prong test replacing earlier Roth standard for obscenity.
Flashcard 25: Define 'commercial speech'.
Answer: Speech that proposes a commercial transaction. Advertising and marketing communications receive intermediate constitutional protection.
Flashcard 26: Is commercial speech protected by the First Amendment?
Answer: Yes, but it is subject to greater regulation. Receives less protection than political speech due to economic motivation.
Flashcard 27: What does the term 'fighting words' refer to?
Answer: Words that incite immediate violence. Personal insults likely to provoke immediate violent response are unprotected.
Flashcard 28: What is the 'Lemon test' used for?
Answer: To determine violations of the Establishment Clause. Three-part test examining purpose, effect, and entanglement with religion.
Flashcard 29: Which case established the 'Lemon test'?
Answer: Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971). Created standard for evaluating government aid to religious institutions.
Flashcard 30: Is hate speech protected under the First Amendment?
Answer: Yes, unless it incites violence or constitutes a true threat. First Amendment protects offensive speech unless it creates imminent danger.