Tag: First Amendment

In Corfield v. Coryell, 6 F. Cas. 546 (1823), Supreme Court Justice Bushrod Washington interprets the Privileges and Immunities Clause of Article 4, Section 2 and articulates a list of fundamental rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Al...

In Marsh v. Chambers, 463 U.S. 783 (1983), the U.S. Supreme Court addressed the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. By a vote of 6-3, the majority in Marsh v. Chambers held that the Nebraska Legislature's practice of opening each legislat...

In Cantwell v. Connecticut, 310 U.S. 296 (1940), the U.S. Supreme Court first applied the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause to the states. A unanimous Court specifically held that arresting Jehovah’s Witnesses who were proselytizing door-to...

In Harris v. Quinn, 573 U.S. ___ (2014), the U.S. Supreme Court addressed the circumstances under which workers can be forced to join a union, pay dues and become public employees. By a vote of 5-4, the justices concluded that the First Amendment to...

On June 18, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court held that an Arizona town’s sign ordinance violates the First Amendment. The Court’s unanimous decision in Reed v. Town of Gilbert established that regulations that are facially content-based must be subje...

While many were hoping that the U.S. Supreme Court would address whether existing precedent that excludes threatening speech from First Amendment protection applies to online speech, the justices elected to resolve Elonis v. United States on purely s...

The “Speech or Debate Clause” provides powerful protection to members of Congress and prohibits the Executive Branch from prosecuting those with whom it does not agree. One of the first cases to interpret the Speech or Debate Clause is United St...

What cuts Campaign Finance Reform and the First Amendment right down the middle? Why its the case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. In Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010), a sharply divided U.S. Supr...

Religion is set to reclaim center stage when the U.S. Supreme Court’s new term begins this fall. One of the cases to watch is Reed v. Town of Gilbert. The case involves whether an Arizona town’s sign ordinance violates the First Amendment by rest...

The U.S. Supreme Court recently issued an important decision regarding the free speech rights of public employees. The unanimous First Amendment decision clarifies that employees are protected when providing court testimony about matters outside the ...