Lecture notes for 3/8/99

Freedom of speech
     -Salem Witch Trials (local level)
     -Abolitionists were persecuted in the 18th and 19th centuries protesting
          against slavery and other issues (local level)
     -On the national level, the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918
          prohibited speech that was meant to discourage the sale of war bonds; speech
          that was anti-government; speech against the Constitution,
          the military forces, or the flag of the United States; and speech that urged
          the curtailment of war production.
     -Schank vs. United States (1919) and Abrams vs. United States (1919)
          -both Schank and Abrams were prosecuted for violating the Espionage Act
               of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918
     -Gitlow vs. New York (1925)
          -In this case, the issue of clear and present danger was often brought up.
     -Clear and Present Danger Doctrine
          -Involves two elements:
               -Seriousness:  does a speech create a threat to the state and/or
                    government?
               -Immediacy:  is the threat so imminent that harm will happen before
                    the state and/or government gets to talk about it?

Freedom of Expression
     -Expressed rights to speech, media, and assembly
     -Implied right
     -Symbolic speech:  actions other than speech that constitute political
               expression
     -O'Ryan vs. United States (1969)
          -O'Ryan burns his draft card in protest to the Vietnam War and was prosecuted
          -symbolic speech not upheld but recognized in this case
     -Tinker vs. Des Moines I.S.D.
          -Tinker and several other students wore armbands in protest of the
               Vietnam War
          -Issue of case:  does the freedom of speech include wearing an armband
               that displays hatred towards the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War?
               -Answer:  yes
          -Symbolic speech recognized and upheld
     -Texas vs. Johnson (1989) and United Stated vs. Eichmann (1990)
          -individuals desecrated the United States flag
          -burning of the flag protected under freedom of speech, considered symbolic
               speech