Essays on First Amendment Rights

While the Constitution states that American citizens have the right to speak freely, it does not mean that one should abuse this freedom to hurt and abuse others on social networks such as Facebook. This is also known as cyber bullying where people utilize the First Amendment to defend their actions even if they are blatantly threatening another person’s life by posting horrible comments on their Facebook posts. The question then becomes if those taking part in cyber bullying should be prosecuted by the law or at least punished by those in charge of the socializing network because ...

ABSTRACT

The Sedition Act of 1798 was signed into law by the Federalist Party when there was fear of war in France and to prevent their rival political party, the Democratic-Republicans, from speaking out against and criticizing the Federalist party, which could result in legal ramifications, including fines and jail time. The Sedition Act was and remains an example of unconstitutional legislature that undermined the spirit of the Constitution and the First Amendment guaranteeing Americans the freedom of speech, expression and press. The Act was hypocritical and defied the principles that the United States was founded upon. It made it ...

The United States Constitution affords all citizens the right to express their beliefs and ideas without any government intervention or interference. This law allows The Slants to use any name that they so wish. However, this right is dependent upon the fulfillment of other codified laws in the United States. Section 2 of the Lanham Act provides for trademarks that are registrable on principle register. The Act prohibits the registration of marks that may disparage or falsely suggest a connection with persons, living or dead, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols, or bring them into contempt, or disrepute” 15 U.S.C. § ...

The First Amendment evinces the framer’s intent to create a “wall of separation” between church and state. The First Amendment provides that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion” (United States Constitution, amend, I). While there can be no government establishment of religion, religion and politics have long been closely enmeshed. Since the inception of the nation, prayer has played a prominent role in government ceremonies (Lee v. Weisman 633). Beginning with George Washington, all presidents taking the oath of office conclude with the words, “So help me God” (Jonassen 861). Presidents and politicians alike ...

It is difficult to pinpoint where the decline of modern journalism began to slide down the perilous chute towards sensationalism and garbage news, but what is certain is that at this current time the industry needs a new start. From what is covered and what is considered to be newsworthy the world has been steered again and again towards increasingly inane and nonsensical material. That which is considered news is easily likened to a mudslinging contest in a grade-school playground, or a smear campaign devised by a high school student to become the most popular. Journalism has become less ...

Introduction

Policy makers and implementers have struggled to attain the correct balance between the first amendment rights of public schools and the schools' interest in the discipline, order, and education ever since the case of Tinker against DMI Community School District. The dawn of electronic communication and social media platforms such as Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, and Twitter has only mystified this puzzlement, augmenting another dimension to student speech (Hinduja & Patchin, 2011). Schools are now in search of an answer to complex questions which never surfaced in the past: under what conditions can schools penalize students for cyberbullying while adhering to ...

(1). As set forth in the Constitution and through judicial interpretation of the Constitution, the Supreme Court plays a number of important and necessary political and legal roles. First, it is one of the three branches of the federal government. Accordingly, as provide for in the Constitution, it is an essential part of the system of checks and balances that guarantees that no one branch is able to become too powerful. In this role, the Supreme Court may check the power of the Congress or the president through the determination of whether their actions abide by the Constitution. A ...

The Court of Appeals should reverse the district court’s decision, and grant to Ms. Eriksen a motion for preliminary injunction, because Ms. Eriksen engaged in constitutionally protected free speech. This case encompasses the violation of First Amendment rights and this court ought to “conduct an independent examination of the record as a whole, without deference to the trial court.” Bery v. City of N.Y., 97 F.3d 689, 691 (2d Cir. 1996). For the First Amendment issues, the appellate courts must make an independent inspection of the whole record in order to ensure that lower court decisions do not ...

Art, Censorship, and the First Amendment: Response

In “Art, Censorship, and the First Amendment,” Robert Storr argues that the First Amendment, which guarantees the freedom of the press, prohibits the censorship of all forms of art. Storr posits that the American Constitution forbids the Congress from drafting laws that infringe on the freedom of the press as well as speech. He also maintains that Americans should not tolerate such ideas, and they should struggle to protect their freedom of free speech. Individuals should enjoy the freedom to express themselves and say whatever they feel like because of the unconditional liberty to do so (Storr 12). Nevertheless, ...