#1 Press Freedom and First Amendment Rights
A deeper dive into. The American public’s “right to know” is a fundamental right in a democracy: A look at Prior Restraint cases.
HANDWRITTEN NOTES:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Orginis
John Milton, Areopagiticia, 1644
Opposed government licenses for printers
All ideas, even false ones, should be allowed to circulate. Truth would eventually emerge.
John Locke said that freedom of expression is a fundamental freedom or a “natural right.”
Rousseau: The social contract exchanges some freedom for a limited government that advances the collective interest
Free speech advances the collective interest.
The media is often referred to as the fourth estate
Legislative
Executive
Judicial
U.S. Media
Isn’t all of this owned by billionaires or, at the very least, controlled by some
Why have free speech 5 reasons
Freedom to discuss openly government policies is essential to self government
free speech is a defense against tyranny
free speech advances the marketplace of ideas
allows the voice of minority opinion
Free speech is a safety valve - a mechanism for expressing dissent without resorting to revolution.
Societal changes: communications shifted from paper to digital
film radio tv internet social media
each new medium comes with dre warnings of societal decay
courts deal with does the 1st amendment apply to each new media
Ways to regulate speech
sedition
Prior restraint on speech must be carefully considered to ensure that it does not infringe on the fundamental rights protected by the First Amendment.
school press censorship
time, place, and manner restriction
SCOTUS has ruled that speech or news is NOT restrained
The government cannot block any speech or publication before it actually occurs.
After something has been published, an analysis is conducted to determine whether the content breaks any laws.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Orginis
John Milton, Areopagiticia, 1644
Opposed government licenses for printers
All ideas, even false ones, should be allowed to circulate. Truth would eventually emerge.
The government can’t restrain a publication before its printing or broadcast, unless…. war for example.
Clear evidence that the speech will cause harm, or when the speaker engaged in criminal activity to obtain the information
1931 Near V Minnesota
Jay Near, publisher of the Saturday Press, cited an official who stood by as gangsters operated illegal Business throughout the city.
Near could not convince that the charges were actual, and future articles were shut down.
Prior restraint cases
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Minnesota statute was an unconstitutional prior restraint on the free press. The court also decided that prior restraint is generally unconstitutional, except in extreme cases, and the government has the burden of proof to justify any exceptions.
Austin V Keefe 1970
A community group posted pamphlets detailing the unfair practices of a local real estate agent, Keefe. A lower court granted Keefe's plea for an injunction to halt distribution. The U.S. Supreme Court overruled the lower court's injunction banning distribution; instead of narrowly rectifying this specific issue, it suppressed all speech by the group.
This is the most significant case.
The Pentagon Papers
U.S. v. New York Times
Daniel Ellsberg, who worked at the U.S. Department of State in Vietnam during the 1960s, began to entertain increasing doubts about the war. He leaks the top-secret Pentagon papers. To Neil Sheehan of the New York Times
Nixon's private thinking