Topics: Issues Related to Speech, Press, Assembly, or Petition

• Abortion Protests

  The competing right under Roe v. Wade of women's access to abortion clinics must be balanced against the First Amendment rights of abortion protesters...

• Academic Freedom

  Academic freedom is a First Amendment principle that teachers, students and educational institutions should be able to pursue knowledge without government...

• Access to Courtrooms

  Although the First Amendment doesn't mention freedom of access to courtrooms, the Supreme Court has held that the public right to attend criminal proceedings is...

• Affirmative Action

  Two Supreme Court cases involving affirmative action relied in part on the First Amendment to protect a university's admission rights and to uphold use of...

• Alcohol Advertising

  Alcohol advertising is protected under the First Amendment as long as it does not promote unlawful activity and is not misleading, but it can be regulated...

• Aliens

  Although the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution makes no distinction between citizens and noncitizens, the Court has not always treated these groups the...

• Art Censorship

  Artistic expression has historically been subject to some measure of censorship in the United States. The First Amendment provides significant protection to...

• Attorney Advertising

  Bar regulators attempt to protect the public from misleading attorney ads while ensuring that attorneys retain a measure of First Amendment free expression...

• Attorney Speech

  Lawyers do not forfeit all of their free-speech rights as members of a profession, but their speech rights are limited in many ways. Rules of professional...

• Attorney speech inside a courtroom

  Whether judges can prohibit attorneys from wearing pins or symbols with a political message in a courtroom is an unsettled First Amendment issue highlighted...

• Ballot Access

  Ballot access refers to procedures regulating how candidates will be presented to voters in elections. Ballot access continues to be the subject of First...

• Bar Admissions

  The bar admission process has produced many First Amendment-based challenges, especially when an applicant is denied because of past political associations or...

• Billboards

  Regulation of billboards raises many First Amendment issues such as to what extent can the government limit access to public billboards or prohibit privately...

• Birth Control

  Birth control is a way by which pregnancy from sexual intercourse can be prevented. Communication about birth control has not always received First Amendment...

• Black Lives Matter

  Black Lives Matter is a protest movement to call attention to police treatment of Black Americans. Response to protests have sometimes led to a chilling effect...

• Blacklists

  In the 1940s-'50s, a blacklist named people whose opinions or associations were deemed Communist. Opponents said blacklists and HUAC hearings violated free...

• Book Banning

  Book banning, the most widespread form of censorship, occurs when books are pulled from libraries, school reading lists, or bookstores because someone objects...

• Boycotts

  Courts have recognized boycotts as having First Amendment protection as long as their goals are to influence political reform rather than economic gain...

• Bumper Stickers

  Courts have ruled that the First Amendment protects bumper stickers even when they are profane. This protection is less certain for public employees and...

• Cameras in the Courtroom

  Allowing cameras in courtrooms has stirred controversy and led to Supreme Court decisions in First Amendment cases. The Court has allowed states to experiment...

• Campus Speech Codes

  Courts having ruled that college campus speech codes violate students’ First Amendment rights, but arguments that colleges have a legitimate interest in such...

• Censorship

  Censorship occurs when individuals or groups try to prevent others from expressing themselves. Government censorship violates the freedoms of speech and of the...

• Charitable Solicitation

  While laws aimed at curbing solicitations by charities have been overturned on First Amendment grounds, charities can be required to disclose how their money is...

• Child Pornography

  The Supreme Court has ruled some laws outlawing child pornography and children’s access to obscene materials were too broad and infringed upon First Amendment...

• Classified Documents

  The Supreme Court in 1971 ruled that the government cannot restrain in advance the press from publishing classified documents under the First Amendment...

• Confederate Flag

  The Supreme Court, while allowing the removal of the Confederate flag to stop disruption, has declined to find that flag infringes upon the rights of those who...

• Confederate Monuments

  Government entities have grappled with whether to remove Confederate monuments from public grounds. Individuals have the First Amendment right to keep statues...

• Confidential Sources

  Some courts recognize a reporters’ privilege to not reveal confidential sources as a First Amendment right, but each jurisdiction varies in the level of...

• Congress

  The Court has ruled that some laws passed by Congress violate the First Amendment. Some congressional investigations have raised questions about the right of...

• Congressional Investigations

  Cold War-era congressional investigations led to the Court recognizing the First Amendment right of an individual to refuse to answer questions about past...

• Copyright

  The Supreme Court has acknowledged the compatibility of copyright and First Amendment free expression, but tension does exist as owners often seek to limit...

• Coronavirus and the First Amendment

  Can the government restrict gatherings, including church services, during the coronavirus outbreak or is that a violation of the First Amendment religious...

• Cross Burning

  Cross burning, which has been used as a form of intimidation against African Americans and Jews, has been defended in the courts on free speech grounds...

• Cyberbullying

  Cyberbullying, bullying through electronic means, presents First Amendment issues when statutes criminalizing cyberbullying are overly broad or vague...

• Cybersquatting

  Cybersquatting is considered to be abusive registration of domain names to appropriate a trademark. Cybersquatters may claim a First Amendment right to...

• Cyberstalking

  Federal, state, and local governments have enacted laws to protect against cyberstalkers without infringing upon their First Amendment rights, one major concern...

• Disclaimers

  The government mandates advertising disclaimers to protect consumers, but they often present a First Amendment issue. Some say forced disclaimers are a form of...

• Disclosure Requirements

  Individuals and organizations that act in a political forum are subject to disclosure requirements. Some say such laws impinge on First Amendment freedoms...

• Disinformation Governance Board (2023)

  Fighting foreign disinformation operations in America collided with fear of government control of information in the Department of Homeland Security's short-...

• Divisive Concepts

  Several state legislators passed laws in 2021 and 2022 limiting the discussion of race in public schools, raising questions about free speech and academic...

• Door-to-Door Solicitation

  Door-to-door solicitation by political parties, religious groups, and businesses can lead to clashes between First Amendment freedoms and homeowners’ privacy...

• Electioneering

  Electioneering involves actively advocating for or opposing a political candidate or party. Electioneering ads have sparked controversies involving the First...

• Encryption

  Wide-scale electronic communication has brought the government’s desire to control encryption technology into sharp conflict with First Amendment and Fourth...

• Exit Polling

  The media argue that exit polling is a form of expression protected by the First Amendment. States seeking to regulate the practice contend it disrupts the...

• False Claims By Attorneys About Trump Election Result (2020-2021)

  False claims by Donald Trump's attorneys about the 2020 presidential election results have prompted some experts to observe the limits of First Amendment free...

• Film

  Films, which are protected by the First Amendment, have addressed several First Amendment-related topics, including the freedoms of religion, speech, and press...

• Filming the Police

  Federal appellate courts have ruled that people have a First Amendment right to film police interactions with citizens...

• Flag Desecration

  Flag desecration is one of the most polarizing First Amendment issues. The Court has handed down decisions on flag desecration, holding it to be protected...

• Fleeting Expletives and Fleeting Nudity

  Although the Court has said that the FCC can regulate fleeting expletives, it has also overturned FCC sanctions, not on First Amendment grounds, but because of...

• Fortune Telling

  Many cities have tried to limit fortune telling, contending that the practice amounts to attempted fraud. Fortune tellers argue that the regulations violate the...

• Free Speech During Wartime

  Freedom of speech often suffers during times of war.  Patriotism at times devolves into jingoism and civil liberties take a backseat to security and order...

• Free Speech Zones

  Free-speech zones refer to areas on college campuses and at certain public events specifically designated for demonstrators to exercise their right to freedom...

• Gag Orders

  Gag orders on trial participants are often used to ensure fair trials. Gag orders on the press must meet high standards set by the courts to avoid prior...

• Goldwater Rule

  The American Psychiatric Association prohibits members from offering opinions about the mental state of public figures under the Goldwater Rule, which it...

• Government Funding and Free Speech

  The Supreme Court has generally supported speech restrictions on government funding, even when those restrictions may have a chilling effect on First Amendment...

• Government use of social media

  Court rulings in the 2nd and 4th Circuit Courts of Appeal establish that when a government official opens up a social media account for public comment, the...

• Graduation Speech Controversies

  Court decisions have interpreted the First Amendment establishment clause as prohibiting prayers in public schools during both school hours and school functions...

• Hair Length and Style

  Hair regulations in schools, prisons and workplaces have led to First Amendment battles, with litigants challenging policies for violating individuals’ rights...

• Hate Speech

  Although the First Amendment still protects much hate speech, there has been much debate on the subject in the past two decades among lawmakers and legal...

• Headlight Flashing

  The practice of flashing headlights to alert other drivers to an upcoming patrol car has been claimed as a form of expression protected under the First...

• Heffron Principle

  The Heffron principle is used to reject free-speech claims when claimants have other avenues of expression open. The principle can infringe upon First Amendment...

• Holocaust Denial

  While other countries have prosecuted Holocaust deniers, the United States has had a different response, due to the freedom of speech ensured in the First...

• Homeschooling

  The practice of homeschooling in America falls within parents’ and students’ protected First Amendment rights of free speech and the free exercise of...

• Horn Honking

  Motorists argue that honking car horns is a form of expression or protest protected by the First Amendment. Courts have mostly rejected this argument...

• Indecency and the Electronic Media

  The FCC defines indecency in the broadcast industries and regulates the content of television and radio broadcasts to prevent the airing of inappropriate...

• Internet

  The Court faces challenges in dealing with regulation of online speech because of the internet's unique ability to spread information quickly and widely...

• Intrusion

  An intrusion on seclusion claim applies when someone intentionally intrudes, physically or through electronic surveillance, upon the solitude or seclusion of...

• Issue Advocacy

  Issue advocacy refers to advertising on public issues unregulated by political campaign finance laws. Laws regulating issue advocacy have had mixed results in...

• Judicial Campaign Speech

  To promote judicial impartiality, states have regulated judicial campaign statements, but recent court decisions have granted such comments greater First...

• Libraries and Intellectual Freedom

  Libraries protect the right to receive information, a concept in First Amendment jurisprudence that can protect against some book banning and Internet filtering...

• Loyalty Oaths

  The constitutionality of loyalty oaths is part of the struggle between the government's regulation of threats to national security and the First Amendment...

• Mail

  Throughout U.S. history, the mail has played a crucial role in shaping jurisprudence on free expression, but its impact on the First Amendment has diminished in...

• Media Concentration

  Critics of ownership concentration in the news media business say that it threatens the marketplace of ideas and poses a threat to First Amendment freedoms...

• Media Exemption to Antitrust Laws

  To promote diversity of ideas under the First Amendment, the Supreme Court has sometimes allowed news media organizations to have exemptions to antitrust laws...

• Membership Lists

  The free speech and freedom of association clauses of the First Amendment generally prevent the government from requiring associations to disclose their members...

• Middle Finger Gesture

  Experts believe the middle finger gesture does not rise to the legal standard of obscenity or fighting words. However, they do believe students can be punished...

• Motion Picture Ratings

  The First Amendment limits the degree to which governments can censor movies. The Motion Picture Association of America uses a voluntary system of movie ratings...

• Music Censorship

  First Amendment challenges to music have focused on claims that the lyrics are obscene, that they incite violence, or that they are harmful to minors...

• National Identification Cards

  It has been proposed that United States residents be required to carry proof of identity, but critics of the idea argue that the proposal would raise First...

• National Security

  Despite the First Amendment, perceived risks to national security have prompted the government to restrict First Amendment freedoms throughout U.S. history...

• Nude Dancing

  According to the Supreme Court, nude dancing, when performed before an audience to convey feelings of eroticism, is expressive conduct triggering First...

• Obscenity and Pornography

  Obscenity refers to a narrow category of pornography that violates contemporary community standards and has no serious literary, artistic, political or...

• Pandering

  Pandering, when distributors or booksellers merchandise works in salacious terms, is a First Amendment issue because of laws that ban mailing obscene materials...

• Parades

  Courts have consistently ruled that private speech that takes place in public in the form of a parade or march is constitutionally protected by the First...

• Picketing

  Since Thornhill v. Alabama (1940), courts have held that picketing triggers First Amendment review. Governments can restrict the time, place, and manner of...

• Picketing Outside the Homes of Judges and Justices

  A federal law that prohibits pickets in front of a judge's home with the intent of influencing the judge could be considered a reasonable time, place and manner...

• Pledge of Allegiance

  The Supreme Court has ruled that compelling schoolchildren to recite the Pledge of Allegiance violates the First Amendment. The Court has not struck "under God...

• Political Correctness

  Political correctness is based on the belief that offensive speech and behavior should be eliminated. Politically correct legislation can violate the First...

• Political Parties

  Political parties enjoy significant protection under the First Amendment. It is not always clear who is the “political party” and who can assert First...

• Political Patronage

  Political patronage is the hiring of a person to a government post based on partisan loyalty. Some say that the practice penalizes First Amendment rights of...

• Privacy

  Privacy generally refers to an individual’s right to seclusion or right to be free from public interference. Often privacy claims clash with First Amendment...

• Private Property, Expression on

  The Supreme Court generally has rejected arguments that the First Amendment requires private property owners to accommodate expressive speech by others...

• Profanity

  Under modern First Amendment jurisprudence profanity cannot categorically be banned but can be regulated when it applies to categories such as fighting words or...

• Protests in Neighborhoods

  Many municipalities have enacted ordinances limiting or banning targeted protests in residential areas. The issue presents a clash between privacy and freedom...

• Public Employees

  Public employees have a First Amendment right to speak on matters of public concern as long as the speech is not outweighed by an the interest in a disruption-...

• Public Nudity

  Public nudity is typically banned as a matter of regulating morals. Only recently has the Supreme Court considered public nudity in terms of First Amendment...

• Rap Music and the First Amendment

  The musical genre of rap, which often features a hard-core assessment of inner city woes, has come under threats of censorship through the years in a variety of...

• Regulation of Political Campaigns

  Efforts to regulate political campaigns often involve competing First Amendment concerns, forcing the courts to adjudicate which rights deserve more protection...

• Reporter's Privilege

  The idea behind reporter’s privilege is that journalists have a limited First Amendment right not to be forced to reveal a confidential source or information...

• Retaliatory Arrests

  Retaliatory arrests refer to arrests by law enforcement officials against persons in retaliation for those persons’ First Amendment free-expression rights...

• Retraction

  Many states have adopted retraction statutes that allow the press to reduce liability if they publish a correction within a certain time period. Because...

• Revenge Pornography

  Under current First Amendment guidelines, any laws regulating revenge pornography would have to be narrowly drawn and made in pursuit of a “compelling state...

• Right of Candidates to Run for Office (May 31, 2022)

  In a case involving a North Carolina congressman's right to run for reelection to office in 2022, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals considered his claim of...

• Right to Learn and Teach Foreign Languages

  The Supreme Court has held that the Constitution protects the right to learn and teach foreign languages. The Court said this right falls under the penumbra of...

• Rights of Military Personnel

  When the U.S. military is a party to cases centering on First Amendment rights, the Supreme Court generally defers to the government’s interest and discretion...

• Rights of Prisoners

  The First Amendment rights of prisoners have been sharply curtailed. When analyzing prisoner speech claims, the Supreme Court has usually deferred to prison...

• Rights of Students

  Public school students enjoy First Amendment protection based on the type of expression and their age. Students do not shed their First Amendment rights at the...

• Rights of Teachers

  In American jurisprudence, public school teachers, as public employees, do not forfeit all of their First Amendment rights to free expression when they accept...

• Robocalls

  Some robocall laws enacted by states have been overturned on First Amendment grounds by U.S. Circuit Courts, but the 8th Circuit upheld Minnesota's law in 2017...

• Satire

  Although it frequently comes under legal attack, satire, which humorously mocks and scorns individuals and political practices, is protected speech under the...

• SLAPP Suits

  A SLAPP suit is a civil claimed filed against an individual or organization for exercising their First Amendment right of petition about an issue of public...

• Spam

  Congress is under growing pressure to regulate spam in much the same way it regulates telemarketing, but regulation of spam raises First Amendment free speech...

• Specialty License Plates

  Specialty license plates have been challenged as discriminatory, but the Court has said the plates are government speech and immune from First Amendment...

• Spence Test

  Under the Spence Test, used to determine whether expressive conduct is protected by the First Amendment, such conduct must have an intended message, likely to...

• Sports Logos and Mascots

  Sports logos and mascots that may be offensive to Native Americans, African Americans, or other racial and ethnic groups are generally protected by the First...

• Stop W.O.K.E Act (Florida) (2022)

  A federal judge blocked Florida's Stop W.O.K.E. Act saying that it violates the First Amendment by limiting professors at state schools from expressing certain...

• Student Activity Fees

  The Supreme Court has ruled that under the First Amendment, decisions about how to use student activity fees on college campuses must be viewpoint neutral...

• Surveillance and Wiretapping

  Interception of private communications via electronic surveillance raises First Amendment concerns for the chilling effect it can have on free speech...

• Swatting

  Swatting is the act of making fake 911 calls to prompt police to send a SWAT team to a person the caller wants to harass. The First Amendment would likely not...

• Tattoos

  Tattoos implicate the First Amendment because many municipalities have sought to impose restrictions on tattooing. Courts have decided tattooing is protected...

• Taxation of Newspapers

  Newspaper taxation controversies that have emerged since the writing of the First Amendment have largely focused on taxation used to penalize certain...

• Telemarketing

  Telemarketing implicates the First Amendment, which has not been viewed as an absolute bar to regulation. Many regulations have passed First Amendment review...

• Times Square

  The history of Times Square, known for its crowded streets and tourists, reflects the momentous changes of the past century, including battles over First...

• Tobacco Advertising

  As tobacco companies have learned, when making statements to the public about products, there are limits to the free speech protections afforded under the First...

• Tort Liability of Religious Groups

  The religious clauses of the First Amendment raise the issue of whether individuals should be allowed to sue religious entities for similar tort damages...

• Trucker Blockade (Feb. 15, 2022)

  Truckers have boycotted coming into the U.S., causing supply chain issues, over a requirement that they get vaccinated to cross the U.S./Canada border. Their...

• Video Games

  The Supreme Court has said that video games are entitled to First Amendment protection, invalidating laws that try to limit the access of minors to violent...

• Whistleblowers

  The First Amendment-related issue of whistleblowing, exposing illegal conduct that violates norms of accountability, has been protected by federal and state law...