Chapter 3

True threat

Speech directed toward an individual or historically identified group with the intent of causing fear of harm

As applied

A legal phrase referring to interpretation of a statute on the basis of actual effects on the parties in the present case

Chilling effect

The discouragement of a constitutional right, especially free speech, by any government practice that creates uncertainty about the proper exercise of that right

(T/F) A court applying the incitement test to determine if the producer of a video game was responsible for an injury caused by a game player will consider whether the game played was the proximate cause of the injury.

True

(T/F) Chilling effect is the name used to describe the tendency for unclear government regulations to discourage the exercise of constitutionally protected rights.

True

(T/F) Fighting words are words directed at an individual that inflict injury or tend immediately to disturb the peace.

True

(T/F) Laws that make viewpoint-based discriminations are reviewed under strict scrutiny and generally are unconstitutional.

True

(T/F) Public schools may regulate student expression when it is sponsored by the school or is likely to be understood to represent the school.

True

Given the Supreme Court's ruling in Elonis v. United States, true threats that are directed at an individual with the intent and likelihood of causing the listener to fear bodily harm are ______.

an ill-defined category of speech that may be punishable

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the anti-hate ordinance at issue in RAV v. City of St. Paul because the law was ______.

content-based

In Brandenburg v. Ohio, the Supreme Court said advocacy of violence is protected speech unless the speech ______.

intends to incite violence and is likely to incite imminent violence

The concept that the Fourteenth Amendment extends the reach of the Bill of Rights to apply equally to state governments is called ______.

the incorporation

When a law is challenged as applied, courts judge the law's constitutionality based on ______.

the real effect of the law

When speech and action are intertwined in a symbolic act, such as flag burning, ______.

the speech may be regulated using content-neutral laws

Underinclusive

A First Amendment doctrine that disfavors narrow laws that target a subset of a recognized category for discriminatory treatment

Hate speech

A category of speech that includes name-calling and pointed criticism that demeans others on the basis of race, color, gender, ethnicity, religion, national origin, disability, intellect or the like

Clear and present danger

Doctrine establishing that restrictions on First Amendment rights will be upheld if they are necessary to prevent an extremely serious and imminent harm

(T/F) The First Amendment's protection of disruptive speech is stable regardless of political, economic, or social conditions.

False

Negligence

Generally, the failure to exercise reasonable or ordinary care

Viewpoint-based discrimination

Government censorship or punishment of expression based on the ideas or attitudes expressed. Courts will apply a strict scrutiny test to determine whether the government acted constitutionally

Incorporation doctrine

The 14th Amendment concept that most of the Bill of Rights applies equally to the states

USA PATRIOT Act

The Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001. The act gave law enforcement agencies greater authority to combat terrorism

Proximate cause

The legal determination of whether it is reasonable to conclude the defendant's actions led to the plaintiff's injury

Fighting words

Words not protected by the First Amendment because they are directed at an individual and cause immediate harm or trigger violent response

In Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, the Supreme Court ruled that public schools ______.

may not regulate non-disruptive student protest

Hate speech is ______.

not a legal term

The clear and present danger standard ______.

protected more speech than the "bad tendency" test previously used by courts