Part 3 Individual Liberties: the First Amendment

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW I

Professor Mike Ramsey

Spring 2018

Reading List

Part 3 – Individual Liberties: The First Amendment

Note: All paginated assignments refer to the casebook (Sullivan & Feldman, Constitutional Law [19th ed. 2016]). Assignments designated as supplemental reading, hypotheticals or writing assignments are available for download from the course webpage.

I.Introduction to Individual Liberties

A.Text of the Constitution: U.S. Const. Amendments I-IX and XIII – XV

B. Introduction to state action: Jackson v. Metropolitan Edison and related notes

(pp. 868-876)

C. The incorporation doctrine (pp. 462-469 & note 2 on pp. 469-470)

II. Free Exercise of Religion

A. Introduction to the Religion Clauses (pp. 1551-1560)

B. Employment Division v. Smithand related notes (pp. 1583-1597)

C. Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. Hialeah& related notes (pp. 1565-1570)

III. Establishment of Religion

A. Engel v. Vitale,Lee v. Weisman and related notes (pp. 1636-1649)

B. Marsh v. Chambers,Lynch v. Donnelly and related notes (pp. 1657-1674)

C. McCreary and Van Orden (pp. 1674-1687)

D. Establishment Clause hypothetical

IV.Introduction to Free Speech;Suppressing “Dangerous” Speech

A.Foundations of the freedom of speech (pp. 931-946)

B. Early free speech cases: SchenkandAbrams (pp. 946-954)

C.Brandenburg v. Ohio and accompanying notes (pp. 970-986, esp. Planned Parenthood v. American Conference of Life Activistson p. 983)

D. Confidential Information: New York Times v. United States(The Pentagon Papers Case) and related notes (pp. 1376-1384)

V.Fighting Wordsand Hostile Audiences

A.Chaplinskyand accompanying notes(pp. 987-994, esp. Cantwell on pp. 991-992)

B.Feiner v. New York and accompanying notes (pp. 994-999, esp. Edwards and Cox on pp. 996-997)

C. Cohen v. California (pp. 999-1003)

VI.False Statements

A.New York Times v. Sullivanand related notes and cases (pp. 1007-1020)

B.Hustler Magazine v. FalwellandSnyder v. Phelps(pp. 1029-1035)

VII.Obscenity and Offensive Speech

A.Roth, Miller and related notes and comments(pp. 1056-1066)

B.Erznoznik v. Jacksonvilleand related cases (pp. 1084-1087)

C. FCC v. Pacificaand subsequent cases (pp. 1103-1111)

D. Ferber (pp. 1097-1100), Stevens (pp. 1127-1129) and Brown (pp. 1130-1133)

VIII. Content-Neutral Restrictions of Speech

A. Introduction to content neutrality (pp. 1161-1179)

B. Public forums and “time, place and manner” restrictions (note 4 on pp. 1217-1224, esp. Kovacs v. Cooper and City of Ladue v. Gilleo, and pp. 1225-1227, on Cox v. Louisiaina)

C. Taxpayers for Vincent, Clark, and Ward(pp. 1230-1239 and note 1 on pp. 1239-1240)

D. United States v. Grace (pp. 1249-1250)

E. The non-public forum: Adderly,Lehman, Greer and Kokinda and related cases (note 2 on pp. 1252-1254; note 1 on pp. 1255-1256; note 3 on pp. 1257-1259; and note 4 on pp. 1264-1266)

IX. Expressive Conduct

A. O=Brien and related notes (pp. 1180-1187)

B. Flag burning (pp. 1187-1196) and nude dancing (pp. 1208-1213)

X. First Amendment Writing Assignment