Tamara R. Piety argues that increasingly expansive First Amendment protections for commercial speech imperil public health, safety, and welfare; the reliability of commercial and consumer information; the stability of financial markets; and the global environment. Using evidence from public relations and marketing, behavioral economics, psychology, and cognitive studies, she shows how overly permissive extensions of protections to commercial expression limit governmental power to address a broad range of public policy issues.
More than any other people on earth, we Americans are free to say and write what we think. The press can air the secrets of government, the corporate boardroom, or the bedroom with little fear of punishment or penalty. This extraordinary freedom results not from America’s culture of tolerance, but from fourteen words in the constitution: the free expression clauses of the First Amendment.InFreedom for the Thought That We Hate, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Anthony Lewis describes how our free-speech rights were created in five distinct areas—political speech, artistic expression, libel, commercial speech, and unusual forms of expression such as T-shirts and campaign spending. It is a story of hard choices, heroic judges, and the fascinating and eccentric defendants who forced the legal system to come face to face with one of America’s great founding ideas.
“A powerful challenge to the prevailing constitutional orthodoxy of the right and the left . . . A deeply troubling and absolutely vital book” (Mark Joseph Stern, Slate). In this provocative book, Mary Anne Franks examines the thin line between constitutional fidelity and constitutional fundamentalism. The Cult of the Constitution reveals how deep fundamentalist strains in both conservative and liberal American thought keep the Constitution in the service of white male supremacy. Franks demonstrates how constitutional fundamentalists read the Constitution selectively and self-servingly, thus undermining the integrity of the document as a whole. She goes on to argue that economic and civil libertarianism have merged to produce a deregulatory, “free-market” approach to constitutional rights that achieves fullest expression in the idealization of the Internet. The fetishization of the first and second amendments has blurred the boundaries between conduct and speech and between veneration and violence. But the Constitution itself contains the antidote to fundamentalism. The Cult of the Constitution lays bare the dark, antidemocratic consequences of constitutional fundamentalism and urges readers to take the Constitution seriously, not selectively.
The First Amendment: Cases and Theory, Fourth Edition is a comprehensive and up to date First Amendment casebook that covers freedom of speech, freedom of association, and religious liberties. The First Amendment: Cases and Theory, Fourth Edition, uses the case method to elucidate theory and doctrine. In an area rife with multi-factor tests, mastery of First Amendment theory and doctrine requires more than rote memorization of three- and four-part tests; it requires a firm foundation in the underlying theories and purposes that animate the Supreme Court’s decisions. No less important, the casebook also includes Theory Applied Problems at the end of each major section. These Theory Applied Problems provide an easy and convenient means to assess students’ mastery of the relevant theories and precedents. The editors also have included carefully targeted coverage of how other constitutional democracies, such as Canada and Germany, have reached very different conclusions regarding the scope and meaning of expressive freedom. All major contemporary free expression and religious liberty controversies receive coverage, with helpful notes to answer student questions and deepen their understanding of the subject areas. The First Amendment: Cases and Theory is a highly teachable casebook suitable for a standard three-hour survey of the First Amendment, but also for more focused courses on the Speech, Press, Assembly Clauses, and the Religion Clauses. New to the 4th Edition: Revised chapters on basic free speech doctrines including “low value” speech, content neutrality, symbolic conduct, and freedom of association Addition of recent major Supreme Court decisions on free expression, free exercise of religion, and the Establishment Clause Consideration of how social media affects freedom of expression Professors and students will benefit from: Completely revised and updated coverage – including coverage of the Supreme Court’s major First Amendment decisions since publication of the Third Edition Comprehensive coverage of contemporary major free speech and religious freedom controversies that are likely to generate future landmark Supreme Court precedents in the years to come Suitable for adoption in comprehensive First Amendment survey courses as well as more narrowly focused courses on the Speech, Press, and Assembly Clauses or the Religion Clauses The perspective of Tim Zick, a noted expert on freedom of expression, as a new casebook coauthor Covers cutting edge free speech controversies such as sexting, revenge porn, racist trademarks, government speech, and student speech rights in the age of the internet Places doctrinal developments into a coherent historical narrative that shows the evolving nature of First Amendment doctrine Includes targeted coverage of free speech rules in foreign jurisdictions that have considered, but rejected, the U.S. approach in important areas such as libel, hate speech, national security, and sexually explicit speech Reorganized and updated coverage of foundational free speech and association doctrines Completely reorganized and updated coverage of the Religion Clauses Includes up-to-date coverage of the growing conflicts over religious exemptions to anti-discrimination laws for individuals, churches, and businesses. Includes dedicated coverage of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and state RFRAs Presents the “Lemon,” “endorsement,” “coercion,” and “history and tradition” tests for Establishment Clause challenges Separation of church and state cases in multiple areas from vouchers to creationism in schools to government sponsored Latin crosses to legislative prayers. Provides comprehensive coverage of the First Amendment in a casebook that can still be taught cover-to-cover in a standard three-hour survey course format without requiring the instructor to make selective coverage decisions
The updated paperback edition of HATE dispels misunderstandings plaguing our perennial debates about "hate speech vs. free speech," showing that the First Amendment approach promotes free speech and democracy, equality, and societal harmony. As "hate speech" has no generally accepted definition, we hear many incorrect assumptions that it is either absolutely unprotected or absolutely protected from censorship. Rather, U.S. law allows government to punish hateful or discriminatory speech in specific contexts when it directly causes imminent serious harm. Yet, government may not punish such speech solely because its message is disfavored, disturbing, or vaguely feared to possibly contribute to some future harm. "Hate speech" censorship proponents stress the potential harms such speech might further: discrimination, violence, and psychic injuries. However, there has been little analysis of whether censorship effectively counters the feared injuries. Citing evidence from many countries, this book shows that "hate speech" are at best ineffective and at worst counterproductive. Therefore, prominent social justice advocates worldwide maintain that the best way to resist hate and promote equality is not censorship, but rather, vigorous "counterspeech" and activism.
The still-rousing (if increasingly gray-haired) story of the first baby-boomer civil protest, the progenitor of the antiwar and civil rights movements, the catalyst of 60s activism. Tells how it changed the university and ultimately the nation as its leaders became instigators of social change throu
