Describes landmark free speech decisions of the Supreme Court while highlighting the issues of language, rhetoric, and communication that underlie them. At the intersection of communication and First Amendment law reside two significant questions: What is the speech we ought to protect, and why should we protect it? The 20 scholars of legal communication whose essays are gathered in this volume propose various answers to these questions, but their essays share an abiding concern with a constitutional guarantee of free speech and its symbiotic relationship with communication practices. Free Speech on Trial fills a gap between textbooks that summarize First Amendment law and books that analyze case law and legal theory. These essays explore questions regarding the significance of unregulated speech in a marketplace of goods and ideas, the limits of offensive language and obscenity as expression, the power of symbols, and consequences of restraint prior to publication versus the subsequent punishment of sources. As one example, Craig Smith cites Buckley vs. Valeo to examine how the context of corruption in the 1974 elections shaped the Court's view of the constitutionality of campaign contributions and expenditures. Collectively, the essays in this volume suggest that the life of free speech law is communication. The contributors reveal how the Court's free speech opinions constitute discursive performances that fashion, deconstruct, and reformulate the contours and parameters of the Constitution’s guarantee of free expression and that, ultimately, reconstitute our government, our culture, and our society.

Driven by the growing reality of international terrorism, the threats to civil liberties and individual rights in America are greater today than at any time since the McCarthy era in the 1950s. At this critical time when individual freedoms are being weighed against the need for increased security, this exhaustive three-volume set provides the most detailed coverage of contemporary and historical issues relating to basic rights covered in the United States Constitution. The Encyclopedia of Civil Liberties in America examines the history and hotly contested debates surrounding the concept and practice of civil liberties. It provides detailed history of court cases, events, Constitutional amendments and rights, personalities, and themes that have had an impact on our freedoms in America. The Encyclopedia appraises the state of civil liberties in America today, and examines growing concerns over the limiting of personal freedoms for the common good. Complete with selected relevant documents and a chronology of civil liberties developments, and arranged in A-Z format with multiple indexes for quick reference, The Encyclopedia of Civil Liberties in America includes in-depth coverage of: freedom of speech, religion, press, and assembly, as outlined in the first amendment; protection against unreasonable search and seizure, as outlined in the fourth amendment; criminal due process rights, as outlined in the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth amendments; property rights, economic liberties, and other rights found within the text of the United States Constitution; Supreme Court justices, presidents, and other personalities, focusing specifically on their contributions to or effect on civil liberties; concepts, themes, and events related to civil liberties, both practical and theoretical; court cases and their impact on civil liberties.

The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published daily when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record began publication in 1873. Debates for sessions prior to 1873 are recorded in The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States (1789-1824), the Register of Debates in Congress (1824-1837), and the Congressional Globe (1833-1873)

This title was first published in 2000. This volume of essays explores a number of fundamental constitutional law questions in a variety of historical and jurisdictional contexts. The contributions focus on the role to be played by courts and legal principles in the resolution of major political controversies and on the progressive development of constitutional jurisprudence in countries sharing a broadly common law legal tradition. The guiding theme pervading the collection is an attempt to measure the legitimacy of judicial (in-)activism when courts are faced with difficult political choices on matters such as slavery, internment, racism and voting rights and radical economic policies and are also confronted with the requirement to attach concrete meanings to such abstract concepts as the separation of powers and the rule of law.

The Law of Journalism and Mass Communication, Sixth Edition, by Robert Trager, Susan Dente Ross, and Amy Reynolds offers a clear and engaging introduction to media law with comprehensive coverage and analysis of key cases for future journalists and media professionals. You are introduced to key legal issues at the start of each chapter, building your critical thinking skills before progressing to real-world landmark cases that demonstrate how media law is applied today. Contemporary examples, emerging legal topics, international issues, and cutting-edge research all help you to retain and apply principles of media law in practice. The thoroughly revised Sixth Edition has been reorganized and shortened to 12 chapters, streamlining the content and offering instructors more opportunities for classroom activities. This edition also goes beyond the judiciary—including discussions of tweets and public protests, alcohol ads in university newspapers, global data privacy and cybersecurity, libel on the internet, and free speech on college campuses—to show how the law affects the ways mass communication works and how people perceive and receive that work.