Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Free Speech
Hello lovely law students! I am currently working on a unit plan for one of my classes, and I've decided to focus on the First amendment and Free Speech Issues. Along with my unit plan, I have to research my topic extensively and turn in a research paper wowing my prof with all that I have learned through my extensive research. This is where you come in: If you have any suggestions of journals, articles, cases, books, etc that would be beneficial for me on my quest to learn all I can about this subject, I would be much obliged to hear from you!
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7 comments:
In the text book we used for Speech Press, there is a really good intro section that lays out the main and secondary rationales for protecting speech. SP and I were talking about it and thought it might be a little too hard for 8th graders, but maybe one or two of us could summarize it in a two or three page handout.
Sounds like a really fun project and if you need any help, I gladly offer my services. As for cases, I will get back to you on that. Though off the top of my head, Cohen v. California would probably be a good one. I think Harlan wrote the opinion and it contains the great line, "One man's profanity is another's lyric." Or something like that. I can email you the case if you want.
thanks! A 1-2 page handout would be absolutely wonderful! Oh, this lesson plan is for 11th graders... I should have stated that from the get-go. :)
As for cases, I'll gladly take any. I also need to dig up my stuff from my Censorshiop class because we had to read a bunch of abridged cases and brief them. The abridged versions might be approapriate for h.s. students - I'm hoping...I have to take another look (I really hope I kept the cases). I am so glad I took that class!
Some more on cases.
The Cohen case is a good one because it happened in the context of Vietnam, so it has a sexy background that may help make it interesting to 8th graders.
Another good case is Virginia v. Black which came out in 2003. It was a small blow for free speech involving cross burning. Section III of the opinion has some decent discussion of the development of the doctrine. The fact that the case involves the KKK and hate speech, and the fact it is so recent, seem to make it a good choice if you want to go the case route.
Virginia v. Black cites Holmes's dissent in Abrams v. United States and Brandeis's concurrence in Whitney v. California in the first paragraph of Section III. Both those cases are staples and form the foundation of speech protection. They also articulate two of the more fundamental justifications for protecting speech, marketplace of ideas and self-governance.
None of these suggestions are earth-shattering. They are well-known cases cited in thousands of opinions. But they are quite good.
They're 11th graders? Then Cohen would definitely be a good pick. At that age they should be mature enough to handle the factual background.
Why not talk about the permissible limitations on free speech of students in public schools. Hazlewood, Bethel v Fraser, etc.
I think students tend to take the first amendment for granted. They'd probably all agree that we have a right to free speech. But you should challenge them on that--do we really always have a right to free speech?
*What if the speech is dangerous? Can you have a law against saying, "Hey everyone, let's go kill that guy!"?
*What if the speech invades someone's privacy? If you get someone to tell you embarassing secrets by promising to keep them secret, can you be sued for publishing a book full of the secrets?
*What if the speech compromises national security? Can a newspaper be punished for publishing a story telling the public about a secret wiretapping program?
*What if it's offensive? Do you have the right to wear a t-shirt with offensive language in a place where children might be?
If the right to free speech not absolute, how do we decide when it applies and when it doesn't?
There are cases about all of the issues above. Discussing those cases along with their historical context, as well as discussing the major rationales for the first amendment, would be good.
Thanks for all the suggestions!
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