Category Archives: First Amendment

First Amendment, This Day In Supreme Court History

This Day in Supreme Court History— January 6, 1964

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On this day in 1964, one of the Supreme Court’s most significant First Amendment cases, New York Times v. Sullivan, was argued. The case began on March 29, 1960, when a group of civil rights activists ran a full-page fundraising advertisement in the New York Times. Martin Luther King Jr. was facing a trial in … Continue reading This Day in Supreme Court History— January 6, 1964 →

First Amendment, News

A Report from the American Constitution Society Annual Convention

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From Guest Blogger Anna Jirschele, Chicago-Kent, Class of 2018 Lawyers, judges, and legal scholars came together in Washington, D.C., last week for the American Constitution Society’s 15th annual National Convention. Vice President Joe Biden welcomed attendees at the dinner on the opening night. One particularly interesting panel was on “Race, Speech and Inclusion on Campus.” … Continue reading A Report from the American Constitution Society Annual Convention →

First Amendment, Same Sex Marriage

Religious Liberty and Resistance to Same-Sex Marriage

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The next wave of litigation involving same-sex marriage is now underway.   In the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling last June striking down same-sex marriage bans across the nation in Obergefell v. Hodges, various individuals have been claiming a constitutional right to continue resisting same-sex marriage. At the core of these cases is what Justice … Continue reading Religious Liberty and Resistance to Same-Sex Marriage →

First Amendment, History of the Court, Justices

The Conservative Justices, the Constitution, and the First Amendment

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This post is based on The Conservative-Libertarian Turn in First Amendment Jurisprudence, 117 W. Va. L. Rev. 231 (2014), which Professor Heyman recently presented as the Third Annual C. Edwin Baker Lecture for Liberty, Equality, and Democracy at West Virginia University College of Law. In recent years, a conservative majority of the Supreme Court has issued … Continue reading The Conservative Justices, the Constitution, and the First Amendment →

Behind the Decision, First Amendment

Town of Greece v. Galloway: Behind the Decision

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On May 5, 2014, the Supreme Court decided Town of Greece v. Galloway. The decision held that under the Establishment Clause, public prayer before a town council meeting was constitutional. Professor Christopher Schmidt (IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law) explains the decision and its facets.

For more on this case, please visit the Oyez Project/ISCOTUS Deep Dive.

Drama in the Court, First Amendment

Lies and the First Amendment

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Tomorrow the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Susan B. Anthony List v. Driehaus, a First Amendment challenge to an Ohio law that prohibits intentionally false statements about political candidates. The case itself presents the basic free speech question only obliquely. The central issue before the Court is a technical one: whether a party … Continue reading Lies and the First Amendment →

Civil Rights, First Amendment

The Right to Discriminate in Historical Perspective

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Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in a New Mexico case involving a photography business that refused to take pictures at a same-sex commitment ceremony. This act of discrimination, according to the state human rights commission, ran afoul of the New Mexico public accommodations law. The couple who owned the photography company … Continue reading The Right to Discriminate in Historical Perspective →