law dba

Obscenity

regulates material that is not protected by the First Amendment because it is considered or extremely offensive

Symbolic Speech

nonverbal, nonwritten communication—such as flag burning, armbands, or sit-ins—intended to convey a specific message

Defamation

civil wrong (tort) involving a false statement of fact published to a third party that causes damage to a person’s or organization’s reputation

Commercial Speech

advertising or promotion that proposes a commercial transaction, such as marketing, packaging, or sales pitches

Slander

false, spoken statement that damages a person’s or business’s reputation.

Fighting Words

specific, narrow exception to the First Amendment, defined as personal abuse or epithets that by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace

Incitement Test

defines when speech unprotected by the First Amendment becomes illegal

Hate Speech

not a legal term and is generally protected by the First Amendment, meaning the government cannot punish it simply for being offensive.

 Public Forum

government-owned space, such as a park or sidewalk, traditionally used for public speech and assembly, where First Amendment rights are highest

Libel

form of defamation—a false, published statement that damages a person's or entity's reputation.

Tinker V. Des Moines

ruling that public school students do not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate". Additionally established that schools cannot censor student speech unless it causes a substantial, material disruption to the educational process.

B.L. v. Mahanoy 

(2021) is a landmark Supreme Court case that protected the free speech rights of public school students, particularly when they are off-campus and online.