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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 14 page research paper that addresses questions pertaining to First Amendment law. Topics covered include the Supreme Court interpretation of obscenity, the criteria for limiting free speech, fundamental rights covered under the First Amendment, etc. Bibliography lists 12 sources.
Page Count:
14 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khfiram.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
shall make no law abridgment the freedom of speech" (Johnson, 1999, p. 157). However, while free speech is protected, this right has never been considered, either by the public or
the courts, to be absolute. As one Supreme Court Justice once pointed out, the First Amendment does not give one the right to shout "fire" in a crowded theatre simply
to watch the people panic. In restricting free speech, the government has to show that such restrictions "serve a compelling state interest" and also these restrictions are "narrowly tailored to
achieve that end" (Johnson, 1999, p. 157). Nevertheless, political issues have periodically cropped up that clashed with the First Amendment, as "political expediency has bumped up against free expression"
(Alexander, 2002, p. 978). Examples of this are numerous. In the 1940s and 50s, the House Un-American Activities Commission under Senator Joseph McCarthy dismissed First Amendment rights as insignificant as
the country was scoured in search of Communists (Alexander, 2002). Today, the federal government has most recently enacted legislation to restrict free speech in regards to Internet pornography (a topic
that will be addressed more closely in later questions). However, two 1990s Supreme Court decisions make it clear that the First Amendment rights to dissident speech is being protected.
In the first of these cases, Board of County Commissioners v. Umbehr, a trash hauler in Kansas had his contract terminated because he was critical of the policy of the
countys board of commissioners (DeCesare, 1996). The trash hauler, Keen A. Umbehr, even asserted that the board had mismanaged taxpayers money. He spoke out in letters to the local
newspaper, and other public forums, castigating the countys government. Not surprisingly, his contract was cancelled. Umbehr sued the board, alleging that his contract had been terminated solely because he had
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