The right to free speech intersects with many other constitutional rights. Those intersections have significantly influenced the recognition, scope, and meaning of rights, ranging from freedom of the press to the Second Amendment right to bear arms. They have also influenced interpretation of the Free Speech Clause itself. This book examines the relations between the U.S. Constitution's Free Speech Clause and other constitutional rights. Free speech principles and doctrines have brought about constitutional rights including equal protection, the right to abortion, and the free exercise of religion. They have also provided mediating principles for constructive debates about constitutional rights. At the same time, in its interactions with other constitutional rights, the Free Speech Clause has also been a complicating force. It has often dominated rights discourse and has subordinated or supplanted free press, assembly, petition, and free exercise rights. Currently, courts and commentators are fashioning the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms in the image of the Free Speech Clause. Borrowing the Free Speech Clause for this purpose may turn out to be detrimental for both rights. While examining the dynamics that have brought free speech and other rights together, the book assesses the products and consequences of these intersections, and draws important lessons from them about constitutional rights and constitutional liberty. Ultimately, the book defends a pluralistic conception of constitutional rights that seeks to leverage the power of the Free Speech Clause but also tame its propensity to subordinate, supplant, and eclipse other constitutional rights.

This text examines the relational dynamics between the U.S. Constitution's Free Speech Clause and other constitutional rights.

Regardless of how the presidency of Donald J. Trump ultimately concludes, a significant part of its legacy will relate to the First Amendment. The president has publicly attacked the institutional press and individual reporters, calling them the "enemy of the people." He has proposed that flag burners be jailed and de-naturalized, blocked critics from his Twitter page, communicated hateful and derogatory ideas, and defended the speech of white nationalists. More than any other modern president, Trump has openly challenged fundamental First Amendment norms and principles relating to free speech and free press. These challenges have come at a time when the institutional press faces economic and other pressures that negatively affect their functions and legitimacy, political and other forms of polarization are on the rise, and protesters face diminished space and opportunities for exercising free speech rights. The First Amendment in the Trump Era catalogs and analyzes the various First Amendment conflicts that have occurred during the Trump presidency. It places these conflicts in historical context-as part of our current digitized and polarized era but also as part of a broader narrative concerning attacks on free speech and press. We must understand what is familiar in terms of the First Amendment concerns of the present era, but also what is distinctive about these concerns. The Trump Era has once again reminded us of the need for a free and independent press, the need to protect robust and sometimes caustic criticism of public officials, and the importance of protest and dissent to effective self-government.

This book considers the free speech issues associated with matters as diverse as the use of racial epithets, flag burning, obscenity, and speech by public employees, public school students, and public school teachers. The author argues persuasively that free speech law has become unnecessarily complex and that free speech protection has been extended well beyond the bounds suggested by the various reasons for protecting speech in the first place. These developments, he suggests, risk an eventual weakening of the public commitment to free speech as a fundamental value.

This complete introduction to law places emphasis on ethics and international issues, showing readers how to engage in ethical, analytical reasoning with every topic from legal fundamentals to areas of substantive law. The features of this book encourage readers to apply critical thinking, organizational and summation skills, and legal research tools to solve specific legal problems. KEY TOPICS: The American court system, criminal law and ethics, contracts and E-Commerce, family law, real and personal property, agency, employment, and equal opportunity law, intellectual property and internet law, and administrative law, consumer, investor, and environmental protection. MARKET: For paralegals, legal assistants, lawyers, and all legal professionals.