COM4000(2)

Laws of general application

Laws such as tax and equal employment laws fall within the express power of government. Laws of general application are generally reviewed under minimum scrutiny Laws that apply to everyone, including media - no sexual harassment in the workplace

Categorical balancing

Legal reasoning that weighs different broad categories, such as political speech, against other interests, such as privacy, to create general rules that may be applied in later cases with similar facts.

True threat

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

Designated Public Forum

A public (or government) facility that is sometimes available for public use that conforms with its primary purpose

Intermediate scrutiny

A standard applied by the courts to review laws that implicate but do not directly regulate core constitutional values; also called heightened review.

Rational review

A standard of judicial review that assumes the constitutionality of reasonable legislative or administrative enactments and applies minimum scrutiny to their review.

Content-neutral

A term used to describe government actions that incidentally and unintentionally affect speech as they advance other important government interests unrelated to the content of speech.

O'Brien test

A three-part test used to determine whether a content-neutral law is constitutional.

Prior restraint

Action taken by the government to prohibit publication of a specific document or text before it is distributed to the public a policy that requires government approval before publication.

Dicta

Statements in a court opinion that are not central or essential to its reasoning or holding.

Quash

To void or nullify a legal procedure or action; a motion often made in response to subpoenas for confidential information

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

True

(T/F) In New York Times Co. v. the United States, the Supreme Court said that prior restraints could be constitutional when speech poses a clear and present danger to a government interest of the highest order.

True

(T/F) Laws that indirectly limit the freedom of speech while achieving other important government objectives are called content-neutral time, place, and manner restrictions.

True

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

True

(T/F) Prior restraints on speech are presumptively 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

(T/F) Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act offers immunity to websites from libel claims, although the protection is not absolute.

True

Content-based

a term used to describe government actions prompted by the ideas, subject matter or position of the message

Symbolic expression

an act, rather than actual speech, used to demonstrate a point of view

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 Supreme Court has ruled that the First Amendment ______.

applies to both state and federal legislatures

Under the First Amendment, prior restraints by the government ______.

are a last resort of the most extreme nature

Considering the right to speak and the right to refrain from speaking, the Supreme Court has said that ______.

both are related to individual freedom of mind

In the 21st century, "the press" refers to ______.

both traditional and new media

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

The crime of sedition punishes ______.

criticism of government

Nonpublic forum

government-held property that is not available for public speech and assembly purposes

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

When employing ad hoc balancing, judges make decisions based on ______.

the particulars of the specific case facts

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 through content-neutral laws

Government regulations that target the content of speech because of government disfavor with the ideas expressed are called ______.

viewpoint-based and content-based

Time/place/manner laws

A First Amendment concept that laws regulating the conditions of speech are more acceptable than those regulating content; also, the laws that regulate these conditions.

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.

Injunction

A court order prohibiting a person or organization from doing some specified act.

Strict scrutiny

A court test for determining the constitutionality of laws aimed at speech content, under which the government must show it is using the least restrictive means available to directly advance its compelling interest.

Defamation

A false communication that harms another's reputation and subjects him or her to ridicule and scorn; incorporates both libel and slander

Important government interest

An interest of the government that is substantial or significant (i.e., more than merely convenient or reasonable) but not compelling.

Seditious libel

Communication meant to incite people to change the government; criticism of the government.

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.

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.

Public forum

Government property held for use by the public, usually for purposes of exercising rights of speech and assembly.

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

False

(T/F) In Near v. Minnesota, the Supreme Court ruled that prior restraint is justified to stop media criticism of government officials.

False: prior restraint on publication was found to violate freedom of the press as protected under the First Amendment

Traditional public forum

Lands designed for public use and historically used for public gathering, discussion and association (e.g., public streets, sidewalks and parks). Free speech is protected in these areas.

Incorporation doctrine

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

Original intent

The perceived intent of the framers of the Constitution that guides some First Amendment application and interpretation.

Fighting words

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

Compelling interest

a government interest of the highest order, an interest the government is required to protect

A traditional public forum is ______.

a public property that is held in trust for the public to use for assembly and communication

Ad hoc balancing

making decisions according to the specific facts of the case under review rather than more general principles

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

may not regulate non-disruptive protests

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

The First Amendment ______.

protects a range of rights

Textualists believe that interpretation of the Constitution should be guided by ______.

the Constitution's own language