First Amendment

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• SOURCE: Made By History at the Washington Post
  7/15/2021
  

  A Major Supreme Court First Amendment Decision Could Be At Risk

  by Samantha Barbas

  The "actual malice" standard of proof in libel suits established by New York Times v. Sullivan is an imperfect fit for the social media age, but right-wing calls to overturn the ruling would allow the rich and powerful to bully the press with expensive lawsuits. 

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• 6/20/2021
  

  50 Years Later, the Pentagon Papers Remain an Historic Landmark for Freedom of the Press

  by Jared Schroeder

  While democratic norms have, at times, seemed paper thin in recent years, the Court’s terse decision in the Pentagon Papers decision persists as a bulwark against government efforts to halt publication.

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• SOURCE: New York Times
  6/9/2021
  

  "We're Going to Publish": The New York Times' Oral History of the Pentagon Papers

  From RAND Corporation leaker Daniel Ellsberg to first amendement litigator Floyd Abrams, the key players in the 1971 publication of the Pentagon papers reflect on their work 50 years later.  

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  5/26/2021
  

  Laws Against Teaching Critical Race Theory in College are Unconstitutional

  by Ronald J. Krotoszynski Jr.

  "Since the 1950s — when a Red Scare mentality led legislators to try to ban the teaching of communist or socialist theories in state educational institutions — the Supreme Court repeatedly has held that universities, as well as individual professors, enjoy a First Amendment right to academic freedom."

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• SOURCE: Washington Monthly
  5/5/2021
  

  “Gimme an F!” Supreme Court Mulls the Case of the Cursing Cheerleader

  by Garrett Epps

  As the Supreme Court considers whether a school district has the authority ot punish a high school cheerleader for a profane social media rant made off campus, the author wonders if legal arguments about schools' authority are overshadowing schools' obligations to prepare students for citizenship. 

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• SOURCE: New York Times
  2/10/2021
  

  Larry Flynt, Who Built a Porn Empire With Hustler, Dies at 78

  "Mr. Flynt’s interpretation was simpler. 'If the First Amendment will protect a scumbag like me,' he said, 'then it will protect all of you. Because I’m the worst'."

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• SOURCE: Freedom Forum
  2/3/2021
  

  A First Amendment Case that May be the Key to Trump's Impeachment Trial

  by Tony Mauro

  A First Amendment researcher offers a brief primer on Brandenburg v. Ohio, a case which Trump's legal supporters argue shields his January 6 rhetoric from criminal sanction because it was not purposefully aimed at inciting "imminent lawless action" – a claim critics say is blatantly contradicted by the subsequent actions of a mob a mile away from where Trump spoke.

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• 1/31/2021
  

  Palin v. New York Times is a Textualist Land Mine for the First Amendment

  by Richard E. Labunski

  In June, trial will begin in Sarah Palin's libel case against the New York Times. The case appears to be teed up on a path to the Supreme Court, where the current "actual malice" standard for proving a public figure was libeled could be overturned. If this happens, the door will be open to lawsuits aimed at crushing press criticism of the government.

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• 1/12/2021
  

  Public Speech and Democracy

  by Sandra Peart

  American leaders have failed to support public speech that sustains disagreement without violence. That culture of speech must be rebuilt for democracy to survive.

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• 1/10/2020
  

  Jefferson's Other Legacy: Religious Liberty

  by Cameron Addis

  Thomas Jefferson's critics have pointed out his ownership of slaves as reason to question his continued relevance as a symbol of freedom. But his commitment to religious liberty helped to prevent violent sectarian conflict and should be honored. 

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  12/14/2020
  

  Facing a First Amendment Fight, a Small Minnesota Town Allows a White Supremacist Church

  A small Minnesota town has approved the use of a church building to house a neopaganist group strongly associated with white supremacy, arguing that they would be exposed to an expensive legal action if they denied the permit. This is part of a long pattern of similar First Amendment cases. 

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• SOURCE: The New Yorker
  11/29/2020
  

  The Cost of Trump’s Assault on the Press and the Truth

  New Yorker editor David Remnick writes that while Trump is not the first president to battle the media, his apparent belief that the press exists as his public relations agency--and anger that it doesn't work that way--are leading him to attack a fundamental institution of society with deadly consequences.

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  7/1/2020
  

  Religious Animus Did Not Drive The Laws The Supreme Court Just Overturned

  by Adam Laats

  Historical restrictions against "sectarian" use of tax dollars used the term broadly to encompass many religious doctrines. Claims that the laws were based in anti-Catholic bigotry are inaccurate. 

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• SOURCE: ProPublica
  6/9/2020
  

  The Police Have Been Spying on Black Reporters and Activists for Years. I Know Because I’m One of Them.

  by Wendi C. Thomas

  Wendi C. Thomas is a black journalist who has covered police in Memphis. One officer admitted to spying on her. She’s on a long list of prominent black journalists and activists who have been subjected to police surveillance over decades.

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• SOURCE: Virginia Mercury
  4/27/2020
  

  As Campaign 2020 Shifts into High Gear, Trump’s Defamation Suits Pose a Chilling Prospect for the Press

  Although the 1964 Times v. Sullivan ruling makes it unlikely Trump would win a libel suit against a media outlet, the adminstration wants to break the historical relationship between the press and public figures.

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• 4/5/2020
  

  US v. Sineneng-Smith Echoes the Fugitive Slave Act

  by Alan J. Singer

  A Supreme Court decision in United States v. Sineneng-Smith that broadens the authority of the federal government to suppress the rights of advocates for undocumented immigrants could divide the nation irreparably.

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• SOURCE: Freedom Forum
  4/2/2020
  

  "Be Nice" Is Not Needed During Crisis — But A Free Press Is

  “Be nice” — two words not found anywhere among the 45 words of the First Amendment.

• 
• 7-3-18
  

  The Media Have Been the Target of Violence since the Beginning of the Republic

  by Harold Holzer

  It’s always an ominous sign.

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• 6/29/18
  

  Why Is Christian America Supporting Donald Trump?

  by John Fea

  Their belief is based on a false reading of American history.

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• 4/30/18
  

  At a Time Like This We Need more Truth Tellers Like Michelle Wolf

  by Ed Simon

  Her great contribution is demonstrating how afraid of uncomfortable truths we’ve become.