Freedom of Speech and the First Amendment
Law 164, Spring 2017
Mondays, 12:00 pm – 1:50 pm
Will Creeley ([email protected])
Catherine Sevcenko ([email protected])
Preliminary Syllabus
Class 1 — January 23
Origins of Free Speech and Early First Amendment Cases
John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, Chapter 2; Schenk v. U.S.; Debs v. U.S.; Abrams v. U.S.;
Gitlow v. New York; Dennis v. United States
Class 2 — January 30
Basics of Free Speech Law: Prior Restraint
Near v. Minnesota; New York Times v. U.S. (Pentagon Papers); Organization for a
Better Austin v. Keefe; U.S. v. Progressive
Class 3 — February 6
The Categorical Approach to Unprotected Speech: Fighting Words, True Threats,
and Incitement
Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire; Gooding v. Wilson; Virginia v. Black; Houston v. Hill;
Brandenburg v. Ohio; Hess v. Indiana; Feiner v. New York; Forsyth County v.
Nationalist Movement
Class 4 — February 13
Defamation & Anonymity
NYT v. Sullivan; Gertz v. Welch; U.S. v. Alvarez; NAACP v. Alabama; McIntyre v. Ohio
Elections Commission; ProtectMarriage.com v. Bowen
Class 5 — February 20
Pornography, Indecency, and Obscenity
Roth v. U.S.; Miller v. California; Stanley v. Georgia; New York v. Ferber; Ashcroft v.
Free Speech Coalition; American Booksellers Assn., Inc. v. Hudnut; Renton v. Playtime
Theaters, Inc.; Ginzburg v. U.S. Class 6 — February 27
Government as Educator
Tinker v. Des Moines; Bethel School District v. Fraser; Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier; Morse
v. Frederick; AAUP Declaration (1940); Sweezy v. New Hampshire; Adler v. Board of
Education; Keyishian v. Board of Regents; Healy v. James; Papish v. Board of Curators
of the University of Missouri
Class 7 — March 6
Public Forum Doctrine: Time, Place, and Manner Restrictions
Perry Educ. Ass’n v. Perry Local Educators’ Ass’n; Grayned v. City of Rockford; Ward v.
Rock Against Racism; McCullen v. Coakley
Class 8 — March 20
Conscience, Compelled Speech, and Association
Minersville School District v. Gobitis; West Virginia State Board of Education v.
Barnette; Wooley v. Maynard; Walker v. Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans,
Inc.; Roberts v. U.S. Jaycees; Boy Scouts of America et al. v. Dale; Christian Legal
Society v. Martinez
Class 9 — March 27
Symbolic Speech and Media
U.S. v. O’Brien; Cohen v. California; Texas v. Johnson; FCC v. Pacifica; Reno v. ACLU
Class 10 — April 3
Campaign Finance
Buckley v. Valeo; McConnell v. Federal Election Commission; Citizens United v. FEC
Class 11 — April 10
Commercial Speech and the Government as Employer
Valentine v. Chrestensen; Bigelow v. Virginia; Virginia State Pharmacy Board v.
Virginia Citizens Consumer Council; Central Hudson v. Public Service Commission;
Pickering v. Board of Education; Connick v. Myers; Garcetti v. Ceballos; Demers v.
Austin
Class 12 — April 17
Hate Speech & Harassment
Beauharnais v. Illinois; R. A. V. v. City of St. Paul; Snyder v. Phelps; Doe v. University of
Michigan; Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education
Class 13 — April 24
In-Class Debate (15% of grade)
Students will attempt to draft a constitutional hate speech ordinance and then defend it in
a moot court situation.
EXAM — TBA