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Civil Liberties. 1st amendment freedoms. Ist amendment--Religion-- Establishment Clause. Jefferson’s “wall between Church and State” School Prayer: can students pray at school? Engel v Vitale (1962) “govt has no business leading or writing prayers”
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Civil Liberties • 1st amendment freedoms
Ist amendment--Religion-- Establishment Clause • Jefferson’s “wall between Church and State” • School Prayer: • can students pray at school? • Engel v Vitale (1962) • “govt has no business leading or writing prayers” • 2000 Texas students speaking at request of school officials cannot lead prayer at football games • 2001 USSC ok’s Virginia’s moment of silence • In CA, state efforts to pass moment of silence laws have failed, but some school boards have passed it
Ist amendment--Religion-- Free Exercise Clause • Flag Salute cases (1940, 1943) • state should not force patriotic acts on religiously dissenting minorities
Ist amendment--Free Speech--political speech • Alien and Sedition Acts (1798) • Schenk v US (1919) • clear and present danger test--largely dormant for 50 years • Texas v Johnson (1989) • flag burning is protected symbolic speech
free speech--location • Ct. says US constitution grants no free speech rights on private property, such as malls • state constitutions may grant such rights (California and 6 others)
Ist amendment--Free Speech--libel and slander • NY Times Co. v Sullivan (1964) • “actual malice” • Hustler Magazine v Falwell (1988) • public figures need thick skin
Ist Amend--Free Speech--obscenity • Different standards for different media • Under the Warren Ct.: • no protection for “obscenity” • national standards • “utterly without” redeeming value • Miller v California (1973) • local community standards • an average person find the material “patently offensive” • “dominant theme of the material taken as a whole” • but today: porn allowed for “consenting adults,” little to be done anyhow