Although the media has long been familiar with the tort law of libel and invasion of privacy, they may not be aware that the law of torts reaches more broadly. This paper examines legal developments in cases where actions of the media are alleged either to have caused the plaintiff to do something resulting in physical harm or financial loss, or…

As part of a larger study, researchers collected campus codes prohibiting hate crimes, which were then reviewed to determine whether the codes presented constitutional problems. Based on this review, the authors develop and present a model policy that is content neutral and does not use language that could be viewed as unconstitutionally vague or…

Since, in most cases, sequestration is no longer an option for judges to insure an impartial jury, judicial restraints or suppression orders directed at trial participants have become increasingly attractive. The problem is that the press has a desire to disseminate information about the judicial process to the public. Silence orders prohibiting…

Public school leaders often find themselves caught between groups with passionately held--but widely varying--views regarding the appropriate role for religion in public schools. Tensions are heightened by the growth of well-funded special interest groups inclined to litigate anywhere a test case arises. By reviewing the most recent judicial…

This paper analyzes how absolutist arguments against campus harassment codes violate the spirit of the first amendment, examining in particular the United States Supreme Court ruling in "RAV v. St. Paul." The paper begins by tracing the current development of first amendment doctrine, analyzing its inadequacy in the campus hate speech…

A collection of nine articles, this yearbook focuses on freedom of speech and censorship. The topics covered include (1) judicial invention in First Amendment governmental regulation cases, (2) the impact of the Moral Majority on book censorship; (3) Justice William Brennan's championship of the First Amendment, (4) the legal tactics that public…

Never enjoying the strong protection afforded to other First Amendment-related speech, academic freedom has been buffeted by a series of seemingly conflicting legal decisions. This paper explores the case that focuses on an allegation that faculty members of Vincennes University, a two-year school in Indiana, were discriminated against because of…

The ultimate test of the speech-action dichotomy, as it relates to symbolic speech to be considered by the courts, may be the fasting of prison inmates who use hunger strikes to protest the conditions of their confinement or to make political statements. While hunger strikes have been utilized by prisoners for years as a means of protest, it was…

A number of court cases are being decided and laws are being passed that have an impact upon the First Amendment rights of children in the United States. In addition, groups such as the national Parent Teachers Association, Action for Children's Television, the Council on Dental Health, and the American Public Health Association are lobbying for…

The U.S. experiment in religious liberty has enormous significance for the United States and for the world. The challenging dilemma of living with the deepest religious differences, as it is currently being met in the United States, is explored in this essay. The point that U.S. success or failure in attempts to deal with religious liberty has…

Do school dress codes written with the specific purpose of limiting individual dress preferences, including dress associated with gangs, infringe on speech freedoms granted by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution? Although the Supreme Court has extended its protection of political speech to nonverbal acts of communication, it has…

Focuses on recent First Amendment case law and proposed legislation that has shaped and will continue to influence judicial affairs. (KW)

The six articles in this collection deal with theoretical and practical freedom of speech issues. Topics covered are (1) freedom of expression and the Mormons for the Equal Rights Amendment (R. J. Jensen); (2) the U.S. Supreme Court and the First Amendment (W. A. Linsley); (3) antipornography campaigns (R. McGaffey); (4) the human rights advocacy…

The United States Supreme Court case, Meese v. Keene, in which the justices narrowly defined the meaning of the term "political propaganda," failed to address adequately the complexities of the issue. In this case it is necessary to bring together divergent views about communications in the analysis of the legal problem, including…

In 1985 the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that a Costa Rican statute requiring journalists to be licensed violates the American Convention on Human Rights and, by extension, all human rights conventions. Though press freedom advocates hailed it as a major triumph for freedom of expression, the court's ruling was only advisory and has…