1919

1st amendment does not protect anti-war protest in formal war; "Clear and Present Danger" doctrine established.

1919

1st Amendment allows Govt to send troops into a nation's civil war w/o formal declaration of war.

1925

14th Amendment "incorporates" 1 st Amendment's free speech clause and applies to states. Legal protections from the federal government found in the Bill of Rights apply to the states. Exception: 5 th Amdt requirement of an indictment by a grand jury. Exception: 8 th Amendment ban on excessive bail.

1927

Ist Amendment does not protect membership in groups seeking overthrow U.S.; Brandeis dissent argues Holmes' "clear & present danger" test should favor "more speech, not enforced silence."

1931

Ist Amendment denies prior restraint of media -- unless (Near Dictum) troops put in harm's way.

1931

1 st Amendment protects those who show a red flag; state law convicting a communist overturned.

1932

6 th Amendment requires defendants have a right to good legal counsel; Scottsboro Boys case; first time federal Constitutional criminal standards are required in state criminal trials.

Patterson v. Alabama

1935

6 th Amendment holds that excluding black people from a jury list denies a defendant a fair trial

1937

I st Amendment allows a person to attend a peaceful unpopular (Communist Party) rally.

1937

Bill of Rights has a priority "implicit in the concept of ordered liberty." (Justice Cardozo). These federal protections in 1st 10 Amendments now apply to states via 14 th Amdt's Due Process Clause.

1938

1 st Amendment 1 allows religious groups to distribute literature without city permit.

1941

Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 allows poor people to travel across state lines to live & work; case overturned California's "anti-Okie" state law during the Great Depression.

1941

1 st Amendment upholds freedom of assembly for public forums; i.e., at city "streets and parks"

1942

I st Amendment does not protect profane public speech; Fighting Words Doctrine established.

1943

I st Amendment allows school children a right not to salute nation's flag (seen as graven image); the religious beliefs of Jehovah's Witness children are protected in America's public schools.

1944

15 th Amendment denies a state (Texas) a "white primary" election as it violates the right to vote

1946

=1 st Amendment denies government the ability to deny mailing of items deemed "offensive."

1947

I gt Amendment Establishment Clause has "wall of separation" with regard to Church & State.

1948

14thAmendment denies restrictive covenants/contractual agreements among white homeowners not to sell their houses to people of color.

1949

1 st Amendment allows racist anti-semitic speech, overturning priest's disorderly conduct arrest; Justice Douglas: "the function of free speech under our system of government is to invite dispute."

1951

1 t Amendment does not protect speech about communism; talk can cause convictions. Dennis reflects America's "McCarthy Era" fear of communism; Yates v. U.S. (1957) limits it.

1951

1 st Amendment allows person's public speech although earlier civil disorder.

1952

= 14 th Amendment Due Process Clause outlaws "conduct that shocks conscience."

1952

I st Amendment allows "sacrilegious" films; e.g., 1915 NY State cannot stop showing of"The Miracle"

1954

= 14 th Amendment negates "separate but equal" doctrine in public/taxpayer-supported schools; this historic case overturns Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) &100+ years of state segregation "Jim Crow" laws.

1957

1 st Amendment denies government/HUAC power to force testimony re Communist Party.

1957

1 st Amendment does allow speech re communism; Dennis is limited; Smith Act restricted. Warren Court uses a "balance test" between 1 st Amdt & society's right to self-preservation; Clear & Present Danger Doctrine not invoked. 5 convictions reversed, & 9 re-trials ordered.

1958

8 th Amendment denies government power to strip one's U.S. citizenship for being WWII deserter.

1958

5 th Amendment's Due Process Clause allows the right to travel; e.g., U.S. State Dept cannot deny a passport to a person (e.g., artist Rockwell Kent) who refused to sign a "noncommunist affidavit."

1958

14 th Amendment prevents states from requiring veterans sign loyalty oaths to get property tax exemption; e.g., California law was challenged successfully by ACLU lawyer Lawrence Speiser.

1958

1 st Amendment + right to privacy guarantee freedom of association - with no punishment.

1959

1 st Amendment protects booksellers who cannot be found guilty of selling "obscene" material unless the government can prove he/she was familiar with the book's "obscene" content.

1961

4 th Amendment Exclusionary Rule (barring illegally seized evidence) applies to state/local police.

1961

14 th Amendment does not stop a state from banning sale of new birth control pills (e.g., Connecticut); Justice Harlan dissent: the law is "an intolerable invasion of primacy in the conduct of one of the most intimate concerns of an individual's private life." Leads to Griswold v. Connecticut (1965).

1962

1 st Amendment declares "it is no part of the business of government to compose official prayers."

1963

1 st Amendment prohibits 1 state in-school Bible-reading law; upholds ruling in Engel.

1963

6 th Amendment requires states to provide poor people charged with a felony free legal aid.

1964

6 th Amendment right to counsel requires a questioned by police suspect to have a lawyer.

1964 

1 st Amendment allows theatres to show porn films; J. Stewart "knew [porn] when he saw it.' 

1964

= 1 't Amendment allow media criticism of"public" persons (who put themselves into public debate). 

1964

1 st Amendment prohibits state loyalty oaths of states employees because of vagueness.

1964

1 t Amendment denies a county's ban of a rally without notifying organizers of the injunction.

1965

= 1 t Amendment gives CO status to anti-war religious protesters w/no belief in a supreme being. 

1965

Bill of Rights (lSt/4th/5th/9 th Amendments) gives persons implied "marital privacy" via 14 th Amendment. 

1965

= 1 t Amdt ended federal law allowing govt to detain/destroy all unsealed mail from abroad  deemed "communist political propaganda"- unless addressee requested delivery in writing.

1966

= 5 th Amdt right against self-incrimination+6 th Amdt right to counsel applies to police suspects; "Miranda warnings" require police must inform suspects of rights before questioning the suspect. 

1966

1 t Amdt prevents government from denying legislators w/unpopular beliefs their elected seats. 

1966

6 th Amendment guarantee of fair trial is superior to 1 st Amdt guarantee of freedom of press. 

1967

14 th Amendment Equal Protection Clause allows "freedom to marry"; ends 17 state racial restrictions U.S. Sup. Court declares: "The freedom to marry.., one of the basic civil rights of man." 

1967

-- 1 t Amendment allows public school teachers the right NOT to sign loyalty oaths. Public employment is not a "privilege" to which government can attach any condition it pleases. 

1967

: 14 th Amdt Due Process Clause allows requirements for state delinquency proceedings. Gault established (1 't time) the broad principle that young persons have constitutional rights. 

1968

1 t Amendment allows teaching "mankind ascended/descended from lower order of animals." 

1968

 1 st Amendment does not allow anti-war protest by burning of federabissued draft cards.

1968

 14 th Amendment requires state prisons and jails to be racially-integrated. 

1968

 -- 14 th Amendment allows an illegitimate child a right to recover damages for a parent's death; the accidental circumstance of a child's birth does not justify discrimination by government. 

1968

14 th Amendment prohibits "man in the house" rule that denied welfare to children whose unmarried mothers lived with men; this decision will benefit an estimated 500,000 poor children who had previously been excluded from aid.

1968

14 th Amendment outlaws state laws requiring racial segregation in prisons/jails; e.g., Alabama

1969

 = 1 st Amendment allows unpopular political advocacy; 1940 Smith Act & all state sedition laws. 

1969

-- 1 st Amendment symbolic speech allows school kids to protest (e.g., wear black arm bans); they don't "shed constitutional rights to freedom of speech/expression at schoolhouse gate"

1969

 = 1 t Amdt keeps states from "controlling a person's private thoughts" (e.g., books/videos in home). 

1969

 -- 1 t Amendment allows "political hyperbole" threats against the life of the U.S. President. 

1969

= 1 t Amendment protects peaceful demonstrators from arrest when disorder is created by a hostile audience; e.g., a "heckler's veto." U.S. Supreme Court overturned 9-0 the conviction of comedian Dick Gregory + others for disorderly conduct for picketing Chicago's Mayor Daley.

1969

 1st Amendment overturned a NY state law convicting a man for burning the American flag in protest after killing of civil rights leader Medgar Evers (6/11/1963) in Jackson, Mississippi. 

1969

= 14 th Amdt denies government sex-based categories; women too can administer estate cases. 

1969

= "Right to privacy" allows "life & health of the woman" to include "psychological well-being, therefore allowing more women to obtain legal "therapeutic"

1970

= 14 th Amendment allows welfare recipients to notice/hearing before state can stop benefits. 

1971

 1 st Amendment denies government power to prohibit speech just because it is "offensive." 

NY Times v. US

1971

= 1 st Amendment denies government "prior restraints" not justified by threats to national security. "Pentagon Papers" case upholds (5-3) Near v. Minnesota (1931) & aids anti-VN War protest. Public has a constitutional right to know facts about how/why U.S. entered the Vietnam war.

1972

8 th Amendment prohibits "arbitrary & capricious" state death penalty laws (e.g., for rape). This landmark 5-4 decision will have 9 separate opinions from the Justices.

1972

 = "Right to privacy" permits a reproductive rights activist convicted of giving an unmarried woman a contraceptive device; a Massachusetts law is illegal, & "privacy" idea advances.

 1973

1 t Amendment allows "pornography" - not "obscenity"; 3-step test; before Internet; moot?

1973

Bill of Rights allows women control over their bodies to end a pregnancy in lst6 months. A pregnant woman has a "right to privacy" over her body and can end her pregnancy. 

1973

Bill of Rights allows the attending physician to decide if an abortion is "necessary."

1973

14 th Amendment negates a federal law that allowed a woman in the armed forces to claim her husband as a "dependent" only if he depended on her for 50%+ of his support, while a serviceman could claim "dependent" status for his wife regardless of actual dependency.

1973

Article I gives Congress only the power to declare war; the President cannot declare war; ACLU took on Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman's lawsuit to halt President Nixon's bombing of Cambodia during VN War; the bombing was halted for a few hours, but later overturned.

1974

1 st Amendment allows more compensation to private persons for injury resulting from libel. "Public persons" chosen to enter public life, & can be more easily scrutinized by the media. 

1974

= 1 st Amendment allows one to put U.S. flag image on items; "contemptuous" image is vague. Image of American flag can now appear legally on all products available for sale commercially.

1974

 = Bill of Rights holds a government leader is no__t above law & no_..tt beyond reach of judicial review; ACLU filed the only Amicus Curiae brief arguing "There is no proposition more dangerous to the health of a constitutional democracy than the notion that an elected head of state is above the law and beyond the reach of judicial review." U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7/24/74 if a President withholds evidence needed in a criminal case, then Congress can impeach. Historic 8-0 case. President Nixon released secret tapes, & resigned as President 8/9/1974.

1975

= |4 th Amendment allows students notice/hearing before suspension by principal w/no hearing. 

1975

= 14 th Amendment prevents unlimited confinement for a non-violent mental illness patient.

1976

= 1 st Amendment allows candidates to spend unlimited $$ on their own campaigns for office. 

1976

= 1 st Amdt gives a defendant right to appeal to U.S. Supreme Court for what was said/written

1977

= lStAmendment allows the "right not to speak" and overturned a New Hampshire law prohibiting Jehovah's Witness from covering up the license plate slogan "Live Free or Die."

1978

I |st Amendment allows Nazis to march/protest in area where many Holocaust survivors live.

1978 

= 14 th Amendment allows lawyers to act who "further political and ideological goals through Associational activity"; a state can regulate lawyers who seek cases for financial gain; the South Carolina supreme court had reprimanded an ACLU lawyer for "improper solicitation" for encouraging poor women to challenge the state's practice of sterilizing welfare recipients. 

1978

= 1 st Amendment does not allow some "indecent" words broadcasted on radio in prime time.

1980

= I st Amendment allows protest in a mall as it is comparable to streets/sidewalks; a California Center v. Robins law prohibiting distribution of political pamphlets on its property was overturned. 

1982

= I st Amdt allows students "right to know"; school libraries can't deny "objectionable books."

1983

 = 14thAmdt allows |RS to enforce rules on "settled (racial) public policy" re private education

1985

= 1 st Amdt Establishment Clause clashes w/state "moment of silence" law allowing "voluntary prayer." 

1986

 = Bill of Rights does no_.t guarantee right to privacy/sexual behavior for gays/lesbians

1986

= 1 st Amendment allows public school teachers no___!t to give "equal time" to "creation science"+ evolution.

1989

: 1 st Amendment symbolic speech allows one to protest by burning or desecrating U.S. flag. This 5-4 historic decision expands the 1 st Amendment, with a surprising opinion by Scalia.

1990

= Right to privacy allows a patient's "living will" to be convincing evidence of his/her wishes; first "right-to-die" case; ACLU represented the family of Nancy Cruzan who had been in a persistent vegetative state for more than seven years after a car accident in Missouri. 

1992

1 st Amendment denies any symbol/law "that arouses anger, alarm or resentment" as vague. 

1992

14 th Amendment upholds abortions performed prior to "viability" of fetus in 7 th month; the O'Connor/Kennedy/Souter opinion reaffirms Roe v. Wade (1973); upheld parts of state law.

1992

1 st Amdt Establishment Clause denies a prayer at start of public school graduate ceremony. 

1992

8thAmendment denial of "cruel/unusual punishment" prevents beating of shackled inmates. 

 1993

1 st Amendment allows "hate crime" law punishing acts (not thoughts/speech) if jury finds victim was hurt re "race/religion/color/disability/sexual orientation/nat, origin or ancestry."

JEB v. TB

1993

14 th Amendment prohibits a government prosecutor from challenging potential jurors with the intent of disqualifying them from serving in a jury trial based solely upon their gender.

1993

 1 st Amendment allows slaughter of some animals in church service (i.e., "religious liberty"); the Florida city allowed citizens to hunt & fish for secular purposes. Discrimination alleged. Court ruled a group cannot be singled out for discrimination; a law must apply to all equally.

1994

 = 1 st Amendment prevents town's law banning signs on private property w/unpopular speech. 

1995

= 1 st Amdt denies a state power to stop anonymous distribution of political campaign literature. 

1995

1 st Amdt allows KKK to put a cross upon Ohio State Capitol grounds used as public forum used by others - rejecting argument that display violated separation of church/state.

1995

I st Amendment does allow private groups/organizations to exercise the right to exclude participants from their parades who do not share the values and message which the sponsors wish to communicate.

1996

 = 14 th Amdt overturns a state's const, admt/public vote denying govt power to enact gay rights laws.

1997

 I st Amendment denies Act of Congress to censor Internet/banning "indecent" speech as vague. This 9-0 decision expands the I st Amendment despite opposition of Congress and President.

1997

= 4 th Amdt right to privacy overturns state law requiring candidate urine test for public office. 

1997

= 1 st Amdt keeps govt from using religion to plan; outlawed 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act. 

1997

= 14 th Amdt does allow a state to ban physician-assisted suicide; Supreme Court split 5-4. 

1998

 14 th Amendment applies ADA to persons in early HIV stages (even w/o overt AIDS symptoms).

1998 

-- 1964 Civil Rights Act's Title VII - which prohibits sexual discrimination & harassment in the workplace - applies to same-sex as well as opposite sex harassment.

1999

14 th Amdt denies anti-gang loitering law targeting minority youth not involved in crime.

1999

 = 1 st Amendment outlaws residency requirements for welfare applicants; Justices reason that citizens select states, states do not select citizens

2000

 = 14 th Amendment denies a state's ban on "partial-birth" abortions as too broad a law, and + not protecting women's health. 

2000

= 1 st Amendment's Establishment Clause denies school policy allowing the student body to vol at the beginning of each school year whether to have prayers before football games.

2001

= Art. I allows immigrants to challenge deportation orders via habeas corpus - denying AG's claim that Congress can deny courts jurisdiction & can retroactively use deportation laws. 

2002

 = 8 th Amendment forbids execution of mentally retarded - as "cruel & unusual punishment."

2003

= Bill of Rights does no...t allow government to violate right to privacy/sexual behavior of gays lesbians; Bowers v. Hardwick (1986) overturned 6-3 by name; Scalia writes angry dissent.

2006

= 14 th Amendment Due Process Clause does not allow Congress to order a legal resident deported after his conviction on federal drug felony laws. [1970 Controlled Substances Act ordered deportation for all non-citizens convicted of a state-level drug felony. 8-1 vote

2007

 = 14 th Amendment does allow Congress to ban "partial-birth (live intact D&X) abortions without placing an undue burden on a woman's right to privacy and right to choose an abortion.

2007

= 1 st Amendment Establishment Clause denies persons not directly impacted by the legal Religion Foundation issue or constitutional question to have standing to sue and challenge in court.

 2007

6 th Amendment allows judges to offer .... lenient sentences in cases where such action is warranted. 

2007

= 14 th Amendment Due Process Clause does not change 180-day deadline on filing Title VII claims to cases of wage discrimination where the discrimination recurs with each paycheck. [In January 2009, President Obama signed an Act of Congress circumventing this 5-4 decision.]

2007

 = 1 st Amendment does allow high school staff to restrict student speech at official school events if such speech is perceived as promoting illegal drug use.

2007

= 4 th Amendment does allow police to force a driver off the road if he/she believes the driver is unresponsive to police and may constitute a danger to others nearby. 8-1 vote.

2008

 8 th Amendment's prohibition against "cruel and unusual punishment" does not prohibit execution by (a 3-drug) lethal cocktail injection. 7-2 vote ends 16-month moratorium. 

Boumedine v. Bush

2008

U.S. Constitution guarantees habeas corpus rts to all under U.S. law - including prisoners; 2006 Military Commissions Act denies Guantanamo detainees a basic Constitutional right. Non-citizen "enemy combatants" detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, can appeal their imprisonment in U.S. federal courts on constitutional grounds. Vote of the Justices is 5-4. 

2008

=- 1 st Amendment's Establishment Clause does not permit a prosecutor's effort to create an all-white jury by excluding a potential black juror only because he "appeared nervous." 

2008

= 1 st Amendment does permit Government to prosecute persons who offer to sell or to trade illegal child pornography - even if the defendants do not actually have child pornography.

2009

 Q: Does the 5 th Amendment permit a state to seize a person's property (e.g., cars) and continue to hold the property for 6+ months pending final forfeiture proceedings? [Justices heard oral argument on October 14, 2009 and decided the case December 8, 2009] The Court ruled 9-0 that the case was now moot - i.e., there was no longer an Article III "case or controversy" because the property in question had either been returned or forfeited. As a result, the question remains unanswered as to how long can law enforcement keep seized property from a suspect without providing an administrative review. 

2009

2 "d Amendment allows law-abiding citizens controlled by Federal law to keep guns in their homes for self-defense - therefore invalidating parts of a Washington, D.C. gun control law.

2009

 6 th Amendment's Confrontation Clause requires the accused the right "to be confronted with the witnesses against him" - no matter how difficult for state/federal prosecutors. Crime lab test results from incompetent/fraudulent staff can be cross-examined in court.

2010

= Q: Does Article III require a decision by the Federal Board of Immigration Appeals to deny a motion for reconsideration in an asylum case to be subjected to judicial review? [Justices had oral argument on November 4, 2009, and decided the case January 20, 2010] 1/20: Court held 9-0 federal courts of appeal have jurisdiction to review Executive Branch decisions. Kucana (citizen of Albania) entered U.S. in 1995, did not leave when his visa expired, applied for asylum, did not appear at his BIA hearing, was ordered deported, then asked that his case be reopened, but his appeal to BIA was denied. 7 t" Circuit held the Board of Immigration since 9/11 had "discretionary power" and courts could not review BIA decisions. Justices acted to preserve the separation of powers; they wanted to avoid a future scenario where the Executive Branch might claim that courts do not have power of judicial review.

2010

= Q: Does Article III allow federal courts to properly review state court findings in a habeas corpus proceeding to determine the constitutionality of the petitioner's death sentence? Q: Is a state court's decision on post-conviction relief unreasonable when it concludes during the sentencing phase of a death penalty case that an inexperienced defense lawyer's decision NOT to show evidence of his client's limited mental ability was reasonable and strategic. [Justices held oral argument on November 4, 2009 and it was decided January 20, 2010] A: 7-2, Justices chose not to decide a broader issue. Rather, the Justices held the lower court had acted properly in upholding the actions of legal counsel because of the mental deficiencies of Mr. Wood.

2010

= Q: Does 1 st Amendment allow regulation of a political movie ("Hillary: The Movie") legal as a campaign ad? Q: Does I st Amendment allow Government to ban a movie if it advocates a political position? Q: Does 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act justify legal protection under the 1 st Amendment? [Case was argued March 24, 2009 - then reargued September 9, 2009, and decided January 21, 2010] A: 1/21: U.S. Supreme Court held (5-4) 1 st Amdt denies government power to ban political spending by corporations in candidate elections because Government cannot regulate political speech. Justice Kennedy's opinion declared: "First Amendment...prohibits Congress from jailing or fining citizens, or associations of citizens, for simply engaging in political speech." It overturns Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce (1990) and a significant portion of McConnell v. FEC (2003). This case is perhaps the most controversial of the 2010 term

2010

Q. Does U.S. Constitution make it a crime to provide various forms of "material support" to organizations the Federal Government says have engaged in terrorist activities? Q; Does 1 st Amendment's guarantee of"freedom of association" permit government officials to use "guilt by association" as a legal justification to arrest and punish suspects? Case was argued February 23, 2010 and decided by the Justices on June 21, 2010. This case was the only terrorism law case considered in the Court's 2009-2010 term. Chief Justice wrote the 6-3 majority opinion (Breyer, Ginsburg, Sotomayor dissenting). This opinion is very narrow, and therefore, had the support of Justice Stevens. A-" Court held the 1 st Amendment allows Govt to block advocacy speech by a foreign group officially labeled as "terrorist"-even if that group is acting peacefully with a humanitarian purpose. A" Government can only prohibit such "terrorist" speech if the advocacy Speech is coordinated with or is controlled by a foreign terrorist group.

2010

 = Case was argued March 1, 2010 and was decided by the Justices on June 1, 2010. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the majority opinion for the 5-4 decision. Q. Did the 6 th Federal Circuit Court of Appeals expand Miranda Rule(s) to prevent an officer from non-coercively attempting to get a defendant to cooperate where the officer informed the defendant of his legal rights, the defendant acknowledged that he understood them, and the defendant did not invoke them but did not waive them? [NO] Q. Did the 6 th Federal Circuit Court of Appeals fail to give the state court deference it is entitled to under U.S. law when it granted habeas corpus relief with respect to an ineffective assistance of counsel claim where the substantial evidence of Thompkins' guilt allowed the state court to reasonably reject the claim? [NO] A; In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a suspect must say to police that he invokes his Miranda right to remain silent; a suspect's silence during questioning allows police to continue questioning a suspect legally. Therefore, any statement made by a suspect during this time of questioning constitutes legal evidence which may be used in a subsequent court case. As a result, Miranda warnings have been further weakened. Justice Kennedy wrote for the Court's majority that a suspect (e.g., Thompkins) who had been stopped by police in the state of Michigan because he was a suspect in a fatal shooting, could be questioned by police for hours although he chose to remain silent - unless the suspect specifically declared that he acknowledge that he could legal remain silent, and would do so. Thompkins sat silent for 3 hours during constant questioning before responding. His subsequent statements led to his conviction and sentence to life in prison.

2010

Case was argued March 2, 2010 and decided by the Justices on June 28, 2010. This case is a landmark decision on the 2 "d Amendment and gun rights. Q: Does the 2 "d Amendment allow legal challenges to state & local community gun control laws? [YES] Q: Can the 2 nd Amendment guarantee of the right to keep and bear arms be incorporated to the states and to the 14 *h Amendment's Due Process Clause and Privileges Immunities Clause? [YES Q Can the legal logic in District of Columbia v. Heller (2009) applied to Federal Government also be applied to state governments and local municipalities - based on the 2 "d Amendment? [YES] A: A" In a 5-4 decision, the opinion of the appeals court is reverse. A legal challenge is constitutional. The 2 d Amendment's right for American citizens to "keep and bear arms" for self defense in one's home can be applied to the states legally through the 14 th Amendment. A: There is no more legal uncertainty. The 2 "d Amendment applies both in the nation's capital city where federal law governs, and in all the states.

2010

This case was argued April 28, 2010 and decided by the Justices on June 24, 2010. Q; Does the 1 st Amendment allow a state to allow public disclosure of names of persons who signed a petition to force a referendum on a domestic partnership law (e.g., in the state of Washington?) [YES] Q: That is, does the 1 st Amendment's implied "right to privacy" in one's association, political speech, and personal beliefs, require "strict scrutiny" if/when a state orders the public release of identifying information about the signers of a petition? [NO] Q: Does the 1 st Amendment allow a state to have a "compelling interest" to order the release of identifying information about the signers of a public petition? [YES] A" A: The 1 st Amendment, generally, allows for the disclosure of referendum petitions. As a result, those who sign a petition seeking a voters' ballot measure can expect that their signatures can or will be made public. When a voter voluntarily signs a petition to place a question on a ballot where voters will decide the governmental question, then that registered voter is effectively legislating - and legislating is a public policy process.

2010

This case was argued on October 6, 2010. The Court's decision is pending... Q Q: Does the 1 s* Amendment allow a protestor to use a private funeral service as a public platform to express "hate speech" against a clearly identified minority group - such as lesbians and gays as well as bisexuals and transgender persons? [?] Does the 1 st Amendment permit hateful speech by "private individuals against private individuals?" [?] [If so, then Snyder v. Phelps would overturn the 1988 9-0 ruling in Falwell v. Flynt. Facts: Matt Snyder was a U.S. marine killed in Iraq in 2006. His parents arranged a Catholic funeral in Maryland. Fred Phelps is a Baptist minister in Kansas. He attended the Snyder funeral - protesting loudly that America was being punished for tolerating homosexuality. His family held signs declaring "Matt in hell" and "semper fi fags." Rev. Phelps did not specifically proclaim in words that the dead marine was homosexual. Subsequently, the father of Matt Snyder sued Phelps for violating Maryland state law that prohibits intentional intrusion into a secluded event for the purpose of causing emotional distress and civil disruption. The Snyder family won a $5 million verdict. Phelps appealed and won a reversal in the 4 th Circuit - arguing that the 1 st Amendment Allows a protester's speech that is concerned with a public issue (e.g., homosexuality). The Snyder family appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the case. This case will probably be the most significant decision rendered by the Supreme Court during the 2010-2011 term.