Essays on Prior Restraint

The First Amendment is perhaps the most well-known among Americans. It guarantees us all the right to free speech. It also guarantees that nobody, state official or otherwise, will stand in the way of our freedom of press, as stated by Thomas J. Curry in his book “The First Freedoms: Church and State in America and the Passage of the First Amendment” (2005). It can be argued that Nancy Jamison was exercising both of her rights protected under the First Amendment of the United States on the night that she posted these terrorist threats (2005). To prosecute her for ...

The constitution remains emphatic on the need of freedom of speech in a democratic environment. Citizens need the right information to enable them perform their civic duty. The freedom of expression promotes individual self-realization and remains essential in the search for truth (Laraia, 2009). People’s freedom of speech enables them to participate in shaping the public affairs of a country. Failure to provide this right of freedom of speech a free society can fall in a retrogressive regime. Curtailing the freedom of speech can negate them the opportunity of making their contribution in the society. Prior restraint suggests government restrictions on ...

1. In Schenck v US, 249 U.S. 47 (1919), members of the socialist group distributed antiwar circulars to new military recruits in violation of the Espionage Act. The Court held that words are not protected by the First Amendment when they are used in a way that bring about substantive evils to which Congress has a right to prevent. This clear and present danger test was subsequently used in Abrams v. US 250 U.S. 616 (1919) and Gitlow v New York, 268 U.S. 652 (1925). In Abrams, the Court upheld the conviction of the defendants on the grounds of clear and ...

The international human right treaties provide legitimate restriction on the freedom of expression. Article 13(2) allows the imposition of certain restriction to the freedom of thought and expression. A prior censorship is compatible with the enjoyment of rights listed in Article 13 with the exception of issues that deal with public entertainment. Abuse of freedom of information cannot control the subsequent imposition to the people guilty of abuses. The natural security recognizes a legitimate ground to restrict the freedom of expression. The First Amendment declares that Congress does not make any law to prohibit freedom of speech and ...

Legal Environment of Admin

Minimum Procedure: Matthews v. Eldridge, 424 U.S. 319 (1976) Issue - Does receiving a notice and opportunity to comment in writing a valid ground to cut a person’s legal benefits without going through a full evidentiary hearing? This is the central issue pertaining to the interpretation of due process in the Fifth Amendment. Decision - The Supreme Court ruled the due process in the Fifth Amendment does not require evidentiary hearing given that the right to receive notice and opportunity to comment in writing was provided to the plaintiff. Reasoning - The court argues that the determination of the ...

Communication Law Worksheet

1. Communication Law is primarily about the First Amendment. What different types of speech can you identify that may have different protection under the first amendment?

Under the First Amendment, communication law varies as the types of speech have been given different levels of protection by the court. For instance, the Court has mainly been protective of political speech while less protective of other forms of communication like commercial speech. People have superior freedom in talking about politics than they do about other matters in a number of different ways. An example of this is that persons are not given ...