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- Free Expression & U.S. Law
- Resources on the extensive history of First Amendment debate and case law in the United States
- The Bill of Rights: a Brief History
http://www.aclu.org/library/pbp9.html
- Short but valuable briefing paper from the American Civil Liberties Union, with links to other papers on particular amendments.
- Constitution of the United States: Analysis and Interpretation
http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/senate/constitution/toc.html
- This is the full text of a standard reference on the Constitution, subtitled "Annotations of Cases Decided by the Supreme Court of the United States," and prepared by the Congressional Research Service arm of the Library of Congress; the CRS is well respected for being even-handed and nonpartisan. The files are offered as text and as Adobe PDF documents (which requires Adobe's free Acrobat Reader). Updates reflecting the most current Court rulings are also provided. This is an essential resource for anyone researching the Constitution and its ongoing interpretation.
- A More Perfect Union: the Creation of the U. S. Constitution
http://www.nara.gov/exhall/charters/constitution/conhist.html
- This lengthy article from the National Archives and Records Administration covers a great deal more than the Bill of Rights.
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- First Amendment Cyber-Tribune
http://w3.trib.com/FACT/
- The Casper Star Tribune is Wyoming's largest newspaper; their First Amendment site is first rate, and the recipient of numerous Web awards. It is undergoing revision and enlargement as of February, 2001, and promises to become an even more useful source.
- Freedom Forum First Amendment Center
http://www.freedomforum.org/first/
- "The Freedom Forum is a nonpartisan, international foundation dedicated to free press, free speech and free spirit for all people. The foundation focuses on four main priorities: the Newseum, First Amendment freedoms, newsroom diversity and world press freedom." This subpage offers "news, commentary, analysis and other information on the First Amendment," and useful research pages, including a book censorship bibliography.
- Freedom of Expression
http://www.aclu.org/library/pbp10.html
- One of a series of "briefing papers" from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
- Institute for First Amendment Studies
http://www.berkshire.net/~ifas/index.html
- "The Institute for First Amendment Studies ... was founded in 1984 by former fundamentalist minister Skipp Porteous and attorney Barbara Simon, to expose and counter the political activities of the Religious Right. Today the Institute is a national clearinghouse for information on theocratic movements in America." The Web site contains news briefs, articles, and other information, with a particular focus on First Amendment religious freedoms.
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Freedom of Speech and of the Press
- Academic Freedom and Campus Speech Codes
http://www.uark.edu/depts/comminfo/www/academic.html
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- Major Issues of Freedom of Speech
http://www.aclu.org/aclu-e/course1_haiman1.html
- Under the auspices of the ACLU, Frank Haiman (Professor Emeritus, Northwestern University) presents a multi-part online "lecture series" on free speech, the First Amendment, and various issues addressed over the years by U.S. courts.
Part 1: The Rhetoric of Violence and Revolution
Part 2: Hate Speech
Part 3: Nonverbal Expression
Part 4: Indecency and Obscenity
- The Flag-Burning Page
http://www.esquilax.com/flag/
- Author and editor Warren S. Apel writes, "The purpose of this page is not to encourage flag burning. Nor is it to promote wanton desecration of a symbol which many hold dear. ... This page was established in March of 1995 ... to provide a rational and intelligent debate on the issue of flag desecration, to illustrate the absurdity and unconstitutional nature of any flag desecration law, and to assist students and researchers who are gathering information on this controversial topic."
- Freedom of Speech
http://www.uark.edu/depts/comminfo/www/freespeech.html
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- Freedom of the Press: an Annotated Bibliography
http://www.lib.siu.edu/cni/homepage.html
- This is an online version of Ralph E. McCoy's book, Freedom of the Press: an Annotated Bibliography, originally published in 1968 by Southern Illinois University Press. "The word "press" in the title of this annotated bibliography is used generically, for the 8,000 entries include censorship and its opposite, the freedom of expression, as found in all media of mass communication: books, pamphlets, periodicals, newspapers, motion pictures, phonograph records, radio, television, and stage plays."
- Justice on Campus Project
http://joc.mit.edu/~joc/
- Colleges and universities love to portray themselves as bastions of unbiased inquiry and freedom, but in fact, speech codes and other infringements on free expression are routine. The Justice on Campus Project seeks "to preserve free expression and due process rights at universities." Their website offers full-text articles and reports on disciplinary charges, speech codes, and censorship on college campuses.
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Freedom of Religion
- Americans United for Separation of Church and State
http://www.au.org/
- Boasting 60,000+ members, Americans United has been working since 1947 to "to protect the constitutional principle of church-state separation."
- The Church of Scientology vs. the Net
http://www.cpsr.org/cpsr/nii/cyber-rights/web/current-scientology.html
- The Church of Scientology is not shy about suing individuals or organizations it considers critical of the Church or its tenets. Here one can find information about some of this litigation and its outcome.
- Free Exercise of Religion
http://www.aclu.org/aclu-e/course2_carroll1.html
- Under the auspices of the ACLU, John Carroll (Professor of Political Science, U. of Massachusetts Dartmouth) presents a multi-part lecture series on the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and its interpretation over the years by a variety of courts.
Part 1: Introduction to the Theory of Religious Freedom
Part 2: The Development of Free Exercise Law
Part 3: Free Exercise and National Security
Part 4: Free Exercise Clause and General Purpose Laws
- Freedom of Religion
http://www.uark.edu/depts/comminfo/www/religion.html
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- Secularizing of the Faith: Recent Supreme Court Decisions Regarding Religion
http://www.public.usit.net/capo/premise/95/july/p950608.html
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- Separation of Church and State Home Page
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/tnppage/tnpidx.htm
- Tom Peters, Jim Allison, and Susan Batte created this site "to explain and defend the constitutional principle of separation of church and state [because they are] concerned that this principle is under attack by the religious right."
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Freedom of Assembly/Association
- The Forgotten Right of Association
http://www.self-gov.org/freeman/8910hood.htm
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- Freedom of Association
http://w3.trib.com/FACT/1st.association.html
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- Right to Peaceably Assemble
http://w3.trib.com/FACT/1st.assemble.html
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- Supreme Court Files--Assembly
http://www.fac.org/legal/SUPCOURT/assembly.htm
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Right to Petition the Government
- ACLU Letter to Michigan Governor Janklow
http://www.dickshovel.com/aclu.html
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- Petition
http://www.fac.org/petition/petition97.htm
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- Right to Petition the Government
http://w3.trib.com/FACT/1st.petition.html
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Freedom of Information Act
- Citizen's Guide on Using FOIA and the Privacy Act of 1974
http://www.sba.gov/foia/guide.html
- This is the text of the "First Report by The House Committee on Government Operations
Subcommittee on Information, Justice, Transportation, and Agriculture, 1993 Edition. House Report 103-104." In addition to extensive information on the FOIA, there are sample requests and explanations of exempt documents.
- [FOIA] Organizations and Resource Centers
http://web.syr.edu/%7Ebcfought/foiorg.html
- Addresses and contact information for organizations which support FOIA requests and free information issues in general.
- FOIA Resources
http://spj.org/foia/index.htm
- The Society of Professional Journalists maintains this guide to the FOIA, along with other information useful to practicing journalists.
- Freedom of Information Act
http://foia.fbi.gov/
- This site from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation offers the text of "frequently requested documents." The documents are in PDF format, which requires Adobe's (free) Acrobat Reader.
- ParaScope's Freedom of Information Act Help Center
http://www.parascope.com/foia/foia.html
- Parascope.com could be considered a "fringe" website, given how much space it devotes to paranormal, covert, and conspiracy issues. Nonetheless, its section on the FOIA is worth a look.
- Step-by-Step Guide to Using the Freedom of Information Act
http://www.aclu.org/library/foia.html
- An online publication from the American Civil Liberties Union, this is also available for purchase as a printed booklet.
- Your Right to Federal Records
http://www.usdoj.gov/oip/foia_rights.htm
- "Questions and Answers on the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act," compiled by the Department of Justice and the General Services Administration.
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Selected Court Decisions
Freedom of Speech
- Barron v. Baltimore (1833) 32 U.S. 243
- States are exempted from honoring the Bill of Rights
- Schenck v. U.S. (1919) 249 U.S. 47
- Are words that present a "clear and present danger" protected?
- Abrams v. U.S. (1919) 250 U.S. 616
- "...we should be eternally vigilant against attempts to check the expression of opinions that we loathe...."
- Gitlow v. New York (1925) 268 U.S. 652
- "Incorporating" the Bill of Rights to apply to state statutes
- Dennis v. U.S. (1951) 341 U.S. 494
- Court revises "clear and present danger" test to uphold convictions of Communist Party members
- Texas v. Johnson (1989) 491 U.S. 397 and Eichman v. U.S. (1990) 496 U.S. 310
- Is "symbolic speech" such as flag burning protected?
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Freedom of the Press
- New York v. Zenger (1735)
- Can anyone be libeled by truthful reporting? Read about Zenger's Case
- U.S. v. Callender (1800) 15 Federal Cases 239 [U.S. Federal District Court]
- Does criticizing the President constitute "seditious libel"?
- Near v. Minnesota (1931) 283 U.S. 697
- Strikes down "prior restraint" of the press
- New York Times Company v. Sullivan (1964) 376 U.S. 254
- Are newspapers ever guilty of libel against public figures?
- Time Inc. v. Hill (1967) 385 U.S. 374 and Cox Broadcasting Corporation v. Cohn (1975) 420 U.S. 469
- Does news reporting take precedence over a private citizen's right to privacy?
- Westmoreland v. Columbia Broadcasting System (1984) 752 F.2d 16 (2d Cir. 1984)
- Does sloppy journalism constitute "reckless disregard" or "actual malice"?
- Hustler Magazine v. Falwell (1988) 485 U.S. 46
- "...even when a speaker or writer is motivated by hatred or ill-will his expression [is] protected by the First Amendment."
- Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union (1997)
- Communications Decency Act struck down.
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Freedom of Religion
- Reynolds v. U.S. (1879) 98 U.S. 145
- Is polygamy protected as a religious practice?
- Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940) 310 U.S. 586 and West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943) 319 U.S. 624
- Can the government compel people to salute the flag?
- Engel v. Vitale (1962) 370 U.S. 421
- Does organized prayer in public schools violate the First Amendment?
- Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) 403 U. S. 602
- Announces the three-pronged "Lemon test" for legislation involving religion
- Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) 406 U.S. 205
- Do compulsory education laws violate Amish religious freedom?
- Wallace v. Jaffree (1985) 472 U.S. 38
- Are "moments of silence" constitutional?
- Employment Division, Dept. of Human Resources of Oregon, et al. v. Smith et al. (1990) 494 U.S. 872
- Do anti-drug laws take precedence over religious practices?
- U.S. v. Boyll (1991) 774 F.Supp. 133 (D.N.M. 1991)
- District Court dismisses indictment against Native American Church member for use of peyote
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Freedom of Assembly/Association
- Whitney v. California (1927)
- Can Americans be held guilty by association?
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It was last modified Thursday, 18-Jul-2002 19:08:36 EDT
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