Kovacs v. Cooper, 336 U.S. 77; 69 S. Ct. 448; 93 L. Ed. 513 (1949) Facts—An ordinance of Trenton, New Jersey, makes it unlawful to play, use, or operate for advertising or any other purpose on public streets, alleys, or…
Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343; 123 S. Ct. 1536; 155 L. Ed. 2d 535 (2003) Facts—Virginia law provided criminal penalties for individuals who burned crosses with the intent of intimidating others and treated cross burning as prima facie evidence…
Erie v. Pap’s A.M., 529 U.S. 277; 120 S. Ct. 1382; 146 L. Ed. 2d 165 (2000) Facts—Erie, Pennsylvania, adopted a law prohibiting public nudity and therefore requiring that exotic dancers wear, at a minimum, “pasties” and a “Gstring.” The…
Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397; 109 S. Ct. 2533; 105 L. Ed. 2d 342 (1989) Facts—After he publicly burned a U.S. flag at a protest at the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas, Texas, the state sentenced Johnson to…
Lynch v. Donnelly, 465 U.S. 668; 104 S. Ct. 1355; 79 L. Ed. 2d 604 (1984) Facts—Residents of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and members of the American Civil Liberties Union challenged the city’s display of a nativity scene, or crèche, as…
Tinker v. Des Moines, 393 U.S. 503; 89 S. Ct. 733; 21 L. Ed. 2d 731 (1969) Facts—Three students, two in high school and one in junior high, were suspended from school after they wore black armbands to class in…
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624; 63 S. Ct. 1178, 87 L. Ed. 1628 (1943) Facts—Following the decision of the Supreme Court in Minersville School District v. Gobitis, 310 U.S. 586 (1940), permitting school boards…
Cox v. New Hampshire, 312 U.S. 569; 61 S. Ct. 762; 85 L. Ed. 1049 (1941) Facts—Cox, a member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, was convicted of violating a city ordinance of the city of Manchester, New Hampshire, that forbade any…
Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444; 89 S. Ct. 1827; 23 L. Ed. 2d 430 (1969) Facts—Brandenburg, a Ku Klux Klan leader, was convicted under Ohio’s criminal syndicalism statute for remarks that he had been taped making at a Klan…
Keyishian v. Board of Regents, 385 U.S. 589; 87 S. Ct. 675; 17 L. Ed. 2d 629 (1967) Facts—Faculty members of the State University of New York at Buffalo refused to sign a required certificate that they were not, and…
Dennis v. United States, 341 U.S. 494; 71 S. Ct. 857; 95 L. Ed. 1137 (1951) Facts—Eleven leaders of the Communist Party were convicted of violating the 1940 Smith Act. The defendants were convicted of conspiring to organize the Communist…
American Communications Association v. Douds, 339 U.S. 382; 70 S. Ct. 674; 94 L. Ed. 925 (1950) Facts—Section 9 (h) of the Taft-Hartley Act, the Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947, provides that the National Labor Relations Board shall not investigate…
Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47; 39 S. Ct. 247; 63 L. Ed. 470 (1919) Facts—Schenck, the general secretary of the Socialist Party, sent out about 15,000 leaflets to men who had been called to military service, urging them…
Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union, 542 U.S. 656; 124 S. Ct. 2783; 159 L. Ed. 2d 690 (2004) Facts—The Child Online Protection Act (COPA) required commercial Internet postings of sexual material to limit access to minors by requiring use…
Ashcroft v. The Free Speech Coalition, 535 U.S. 234; 122 S. Ct. 1389; 152 L. Ed. 2d 403; 2002 U.S. LEXIS 1789 (2002) Facts—In the Child Pornography Prevention Act (CCPA) of 1996, Congress expanded its ban on child pornography to…
National Endowment for the Arts v. Finley, 524 U.S. 569; 118 S. Ct. 2168; 141 L. Ed. 2d 500 (1998) Facts—Stung by outcries over federal funding of art that was considered to be obscene or blasphemous, Congress amended the National…
Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, 521 U.S. 844; 117 S. Ct. 2329; 138 L. Ed. 2d 874 (1997) Facts—The Communications Decency Act of 1996 (CDA) contained provisions designed to protect minors from “indecent” and “patently offensive” communications via the…
New York v. Ferber, 458 U.S. 747; 102 S. Ct. 2248; 73 L. Ed. 3d 1113 (1982) Facts—New York prohibited knowing depiction of sexual performances by children or distribution thereof. Ferber, a proprietor of a Manhattan book- store, sold two…
Miller v. California, 413 U.S.15; 93 S. Ct. 2607; 37 L. Ed. 2d 419 (1973) Facts—California applied its criminal statutes to sexually explicit materials sent through the mails to persons who did not request them. Question—May a state enforce obscenity…
Ginzburg v. United States, 383 U.S. 463; 86 S. Ct. 942; 16 L. Ed. 2d 31 (1966) Facts—Ralph Ginzburg was convicted of violating the federal obscenity statute by producing and selling obscene publications. The government charged that Ginzburg’s advertising openly…
Roth v. United States (Alberts v. California), 354 U.S. 476; 77 S. Ct. 1304; 1 L. Ed. 2d 1498 (1957) Facts—Samuel Roth conducted a business in New York in the publication and sale of books, photographs, and magazines. He was…
Burstyn v. Wilson, 343 U.S. 495; 72 S. Ct. 777; 96 L. Ed. 1098 (1952) Facts—A highly controversial film, The Miracle, produced in Italy and starring Anna Magnani, had at first been licensed for showing in New York and had…
44 Liquormart, Inc. v. Rhode Island, 517 U.S. 484; 116 S. Ct. 1495; 134 L. Ed. 2d 711 (1996) Facts—Rhode Island has strict laws prohibiting the advertising of the prices of alcoholic products within the state. 44 Liquormart, Inc. (joined…
First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti, 435 U.S. 765; 98 S. Ct. 1407; 55 L. Ed. 2d 707 (1978) Facts—Appellants were national banking associations and business corporations that wanted to publicize their views. They opposed a referendum proposal to…
Virginia State Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council, Inc., 425 U.S. 748; 96 S. Ct. 1817; 48 L. Ed. 2d 346 (1976) Facts—The appellees, a consumer group, challenged a Virginia law that states that a pharmacist is guilty…
