JOUR 3060 Exam 2 Review

Microwave technology to import far away television signals began to be used commonly to siphon audiences from local broadcasts in the:

1950s

The Tinker test, which regulates the free speech rights of students, says that administrators can prohibit student speech if it is:

A substantial interference with the requirements of discipline in operating the school

A geosciences professor at a small private college conducts interviews with local press and speaking engagements at libraries about the risks and dangers of climate change. After one public lecture, and audience member reviewed the speech on their political blog. The audience member wrote, "I don't know what the professor was on when they dud that research! Don't be taken in by this junk science." The professor sues for defamation. In order to succeed, the professor must prove:

Actual malice, because the professor is a limited-purpose public figure.

Case over compliance with a rule or regulation. An agency's rules and policies apply. A party must pursue this action before seeking external review by a court.

Administrative action

Which of the following is not a method for states to appoint judges?

Advice and consent of the Senate

Which of the following is not an accurate description of the "fair use" defense to copyright infringement?

All of these statements are accurate descriptions of the "fair use" defense

The right to gather for peaceful and lawful purposes is the right to:

Assembly

Doctrine that holds laws unconstitutional when the law leaves too much discretion in its application, making people reluctant to exercise their right to free speech for fear of punishment:

Chilling effect

A case typically between private parties for money damages (or injunctive relief) in which the standard of proof is the preponderance of evidence.

Civil action

Which of these is not a purpose of the right to freedom of expression?

Correcting status and class discrimination

A case brought by the state against a defendant for a crime. The standard of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt.

Criminal action

Which of the following is not an element of the Miller test for regulating obscenity:

Display of genitals

Pursuant to congressional action, the _______ was renamed the "FCC," the name the administrative agency is still known as today.

FRC

Name of the administrative agency that regulates deceptive advertising:

FTC

According to the text, it is probably lawful for a company's social media policy to prevent employees from making social media posts that engage in behavior that would be inappropriate at work.

False

All five members of the FCC's Board of Commissioners will belong to the same political party.

False

An ad for food features a movie star claiming that the food is "clinically and scientifically demonstrated to help you lose weight." The FTC likely would be OK with this, because the ad is just puffery.

False

Broadcast licensees hold their license forever.

False

For a libel suit, plaintiffs must demonstrate that the defamatory material identifies the plaintiff, and this must mean that the story names the plaintiff.

False

Georgia State University could refuse to allow a student group to invite a speaker to campus because the speaker's views are seen by the vast majority of citizens as morally wrong.

False

In a criminal case, the prosecution is under no obligation to turn over evidence that may help the defendant's case (exculpatory evidence).

False

In recent decades, cases considering advertising regulations have focused on preventing the government from regulating truthful information, and the Central Hudson test has been totally abandoned.

False

It is constitutional to require students to salute the flag and pledge allegiance to it because these requirements help produce national unity and community peace.

False

It's simple for anyone to have the Supreme Court hear their case, because everyone's right to an appeal includes the right for the Supreme Court to hear the case.

False

Network neutrality, which is a policy that requires that all internet service providers treat all content equally (no blocking or throttling), is the current policy in the United States.

False

New York Times v. Sullivan, the landmark case that established the 'actual malice' standard for defamation cases involving public officials, illustrates how easy it is to separate advertisements from political speech.

False

Person A creates a television show and owns a copyright, Person B creates a derivative work - a trivia book based on Person A's copyrighted television show. It's a huge sensation - it's turned into an app and generates millions of dollars in subscription and ad revenue. Person B does not obtain a license from Person A for the work. True or False: Person B is not in violation of copyright law, because Person B's trivia book made a lot of money, which proves that it is its own unique creation.

False

The Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court is the boss of the Court. The Court decides cases the way the Chief Justice wants them decided.

False

The FCC must function in the "public interest," which for the last few decades has meant a laser-like focus on the interests of the listening public.

False

The FCC's "fleeting expletives" rule states that broadcast stations cannot be fined for the unscripted profanity that appears on their live broadcasts.

False

The Federal Trade Commission is composed of 5 commissioners serving 7 year terms, Because the President nominates commissioners and the Senate confirms, the FTC can be composed of all members of the same party if enough seats open up.

False

The Supreme Court has held that criminal libel laws are categorically unconstitutional violations of the First Amendment.

False

The Supreme Court precedents from the mid-twentieth century to the present should be viewed as standing for a consistent principle that the government has no obvious barrier in regulating commercial speech, no matter the context.

False

The Zenger trial was significant for the history of free expression because it was an example in which the jury enforced criminal libel laws against a defendant who criticized the King of England.

False

The constitutional right to privacy is mentioned 3 times in the Bill of Rights

False

There is a consensus of opinion among experts and the general public that pornography poses a serious threat to public health, safety, and welfare.

False

There is a self-imposed ban of cigarette advertising by the cigarette industry on any medium of electronic communication.

False

Under current law as interpreted by the Supreme Court, federally funded libraries cannot be required to install software filters because libraries are public forums.

False

Your signature can be trademarked

False

The name of the procedural rule that was terminated for this past decade that has contributed to the contentious confirmation processes of Merrick Garland (failed), Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh.

Filibuster

In terms of hierarchy of protected expression, political speech is an example of:

High value speech

The FCC's rule that limits the # of cities in which an entity can own a cable system is a

Horizontal restriction

Which of the following was not identified by the text as an important policy issue for the Internet?

Inability to navigate overwhelming amount of information

Messages - sexual and non sexual - that are clearly offensive and which do not necessarily have sexual content.

Indecency

Which of these is not an existing statute designed to protect individual privacy?

Instagram SAFE Act

In terms of hierarchy of protected speech, commercial speech is an example of:

Intermediate value speech

When a speaker directs a threat to a person or group of persons with the intent of placing the victim in fear of bodily harm or death, that's a description of:

Intimidating speech

Which of these is not an element of the Central Hudson test, which the Supreme Court uses to evaluate the constitutionality of advertising regulations?

Is the advertisement patently offensive to potential viewers/readers?

Which of these statements about the FCC's powers is not true?

It acts like the people when it expresses its disdain for indecent material on the air

According to the text and lecture, which of the following is not true about the FTC's definition of "deceptive":

It protects all consumers - even those who are foolish or naïve

The power of a court to interpret the law and apply it is:

Judicial review

Concept that confers power on a court to hear a case. It typically requires that a case be about a particular subject (the what) and be brought in the proper geographic area (the where).

Jurisdiction

In terms of hierarchy of protected expression, fighting words are an example of:

Low value speech

The "marketplace of ideas" model comes from the ________ social goal of free speech.

Means of attaining the truth

Which of the following was not a definition of "law" offered by the Hopkins text?

Moral command

Sexual expression that is considered disgusting to the senses or abhorrent to morality, and graphic sex acts intended to arouse lustful thoughts.

Obscenity

Sexually explicit expression, which gets some First Amendment protection.

Pornography

"Must carry" rules for cable providers (considered in Turner I and Turner II) are designed to:

Prevent a cable system from strangling local operators

A company wants to hire you as a contractor (not employee) to do PR work. They wish for you to sign a non-competition agreement that keeps you from doing PR work "for any other company in the city of Atlanta for 20 years or until the company is out of business (whichever comes first)." The provision is:

Probably invalid because of the amount of time

Parks and street corners are examples of what special category of free speech recognized by judicial doctrine?

Public forum

The FCC fairness doctrine (rescinded in the 1980s) was a doctrine that:

Required broadcasters to present contrasting viewpoints on controversial issues

Legal test that requires government regulation to be narrowly tailored to a compelling state interest:

Strict scrutiny

Which of the following is not a rationale for broadcast regulation?

Tendency to air immoral material

According to the text and the lecture, one common principle connecting the Supreme Court cases of the 1970s that considered advertising bans is:

The need to make sure that consumers of these ads had accurate information and weren't being taken advantage of in the market

Under the political broadcasting rules, broadcasters and cable operators may charge candidates for airtime at what is referred to as the "Lowest Unit Rate," which is ________.

The rate broadcasters charge their most favored advertisers

Which of the following is not a legitimate justification for limiting student speech:

The speech was controversial and there are some students who may be distracted or take offense to it

A Facebook poster criticized the supervisor of a city recreation center for mismanaging fiscal resources and neglecting the rec center's activities and facilities. They posted, "What happened to the money last year? And every other year?" The supervisor sued the Facebook poster for defamation. Which of the following responses best describes the legal situation between the supervisor and the Facebook poster?

The supervisor will need to prove actual malice, because they are a public official.

Which of the following is not a fundamental freedom protected by the First Amendment?

They all are fundamental freedoms protected by the First Amendment (speech, press, assembly, petition)

Which of the following is not a requirement for obtaining a broadcast license from the FCC

To have no felonies on your record

A corporation can spend directly from its treasury for political ads so long as the messages are produced independently and not associated with a campaign.

True

A defendant can argue in an appropriate case that the plaintiff has so poor a reputation already that the plaintiff is "libel proof".

True

A flyer that contains offensive material may nevertheless not be considered obscene of it is a parody with political implications.

True

A private college can expel a student for writing an article in a school newspaper if the article offends good taste.

True

A private high school may censor a student's political speech because the First Amendment doesn't protect students from private entities regulating their speech.

True

A regulation that prohibits commercial activities in public university facilities likely is constitutional because there is an interest in protecting students and maintaining an educational atmosphere.

True

According to the Supreme Court, for work to be copyrightable, it must be an independent creation (not copied) that shows some minimal degree of creativity

True

American courts typically do not enforce the defamation judgements of foreign jurisdictions, especially when those judgements are incompatible with the First Amendment.

True

Appellate courts typically can only consider questions of law, and not fact. And the party asking for the appeal must prove prejudicial error.

True

Article III judges have lifetime tenure and can only typically be removed by impeachment or their retirement. Non-Article III judges have their term of service and jurisdiction specified by legislation.

True

Because file sharing of original music and video without permission likely is a violation of copyright law, sites are required to pay licensing fees to owners of the copyrights.

True

Courts in various jurisdictions are divided over the constitutionality of permanent injunctions for defamation.

True

Courts typically require that the FDA provide substantial evidence that a regulation would accomplish the FDA's stated objective.

True

Each state court is autonomous and independent from other state court systems and the federal system.

True

Early attempts to articulate a legal rule to regulate pornography resulted in a fragmented approach of concurring and plurality opinions. Justices Black and Douglas advanced absolutist arguments against regulations, but those did not carry the day.

True

For libel on the internet, the plaintiff must identify the original poster of the defamatory material (and cannot merely sue the platform).

True

Hustler Magazine v. Falwell applied the "actual malice" rule to public figures who sue for the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress.

True

If a defendant knows at the time of publication that there is evidence contrary to a story but does not publish it, that can be used as evidence in demonstrating actual malice.

True

If a judge bars a citizen from any public speech about a person in public, a court likely would find that an overboard prior restraint on speech.

True

In an early case about indecency on the Internet, the Supreme Court struck down a law designed to protect minors from indecent material because it was too vague.

True

In terms of restrictions based on the medium, newspapers, books, magazines, and print receive the highest level of protections, and broadcasting is among the most restricted media.

True

Indecent or pornographic material that is legal to sell to adults may be illegal to sell to minors/children.

True

Picketing in a public forum is almost always permissible, provided that it is peaceful and does not interfere with other public uses.

True

Ratings systems are used for films, music, television, and video games as a mechanism that makes it easier for people to avoid (and thus tolerate) indecent material.

True

State courts can have many courts of special jurisdiction (meaning they are authorized only to hear certain types of cases), such as probate courts, domestic relations courts, and juvenile courts.

True

States and localities may use zoning laws to limit the location of businesses that sell adult material.

True

The First Amendment does not appear in the original Constitution.

True

The Supreme Court has held that a state cannot make it a felony for a registered sex offender to use personal web pages, such as social media pages.

True

The government cannot prohibit speech before it occurs - even when the danger to the public is very serious - if the danger isn't also about to happen.

True

The main difference between the torts of libel and slander is that libel is the publication of defamatory material in physical form, and slander is defamatory communication through spoken word or gesture.

True

The style of a post (or article) can serve as evidence of actual malice.

True

The text notes that honor in Unites States' society inheres in the individual, and this helps to explain the importance of defamation law in protecting people's reputations.

True

There is a presumption against prior restraints/licensing of speech in part because prior restraints are broader than regulations after the speech is uttered and the government has a procedural advantage over individual speakers.

True

Time, place, and manner restrictions of speech are examples of content-neutral regulations.

True

Trademark lawsuits are often concerned with two threats to trademarks - confusion of marks, and dilution of the original mark.

True

Under the Communications Decency Act, Internet Service Providers are generally not liable for the reposting of 3rd party information on websites.

True

Under the political broadcasting rules, broadcasters/cable stations are not required to inform a candidate that their opponent has had a "use" on their station.

True

The name of the court level in the federal system where a case typically starts.

US District Court

Doctrine that holds a law unconstitutional when it does not make clear what kind of speech that it is regulating:

Vagueness doctrine

The FCC's requirement that restricts the % of channels an entity can dedicate to programming affiliated with the entity is a:

Vertical ownership rule

XYZ Corp. made an initial public offering of its stock on July 1. Its CEO would like to capitalize on XYZ Corp's momentum. They ask you to draft an earnings forecast for release on December 1 of the same year that touts the company's prospects. What would you say?

Yes. On its face, there is nothing wrong with this request as far as the securities laws are concerned

Privacy tort that is the publication of private information that would be highly offensive to a reasonable person and is not a matter of legitimate public concern:

embarrassing private facts

"Exxon" is an example of a trademark that is:

fanciful - no meaning whatsoever

The privacy tort that is the invasion of a person's solitude, physically or by technological devices is:

intrusion

Which of the following is not copyrightable?

recipes