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| A set of rules that attempt to guide human conduct & a set of formal, governmental sanctions that are applied when those rules are violated. |
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Law = what you can do minimum set of standards ethics = what you should do requires you to do less than what the law may allow (ex.- not showing 9/11 footage) |
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- constitutions
- statutory law- written laws by legislators
- rulings of executive/administrative agencies- FCC, FTC
- common (case) law-judges set precedents
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- one o 4 primary sources of law
- give the structure of gov't
- set out rights of citizens
- supremacy doctrine- our constitution is the supreme law of the land; overrides all other forms/levels of law
- most direct relflection of kind of gov't desired by ppl
- outlines gov't authority & responsibility
- Bill of Rights- limits power of gov't
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established by the constitution - legislative- enacts laws
- executive- enforces laws
- judicial- interprets laws (has last word of constitutional meaning)
*constitution very difficult to change or amend b/c it represents long standing/universal principles |
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- one of 4 primary sources of law
- collection of statutes and ordinances that are written by legislative bodies (U.S. Congress, 50 state legislatures, county commissions, city councils)
- set forth enforceable rules to govern social behavior
- legislative bodies try to forsee big issues/broad items
- tend to deal with "big" issues, not specific problems
- legislators allowed to anticipate problems
- collected in codes & law books and are easily accessible
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| rulings by executive & administrative agencies |
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- one of 4 primary sources of law
- independent bodies of experts who are appointed to set policy solely by analyzing facts
- agencies created to handle specific, complex areas of law- so that legislators don't have to directly handle technicalities of diff. trades
- rulings/orders must be followed by industries they regulate- licensees must follow orders
- each one publishes its own rules & orders
- comm. examples- FCC,FTC
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- one of 4 primary sources of law
- laws made by judge- accumulation of rulings made by the courts in individual disputes
- principles and rules of law that derive their authority not from legislation but from usage and custom (no written/standardized format)
- developed by addressing specific factual situations- rulings that address specific/personal controversies
- stare decisis- "let the decision stand"; precedents provide continuity and restrict judicial abuse of discretion
- unlike statutory b/c can't forsee issues
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may be: - accepted- apply decision of previous case to current case; previous ruling was right
- modified- similarities in facts but situations may be changed/different
- distinguished- similarities in situations but facts may be changed/different
- overruled- decision declared insufficient/inapproppriate for current case; previous ruling was wrong/faulty
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| structure of U.S. federal courts |
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- federal district courts (approx. 95)- lowest level in federal courts
- federal appeals/circuit courts (approx. 13)- intermediate appelate courts; group of states assigned to a court
- U.S. Supreme Court- highest appelate court
- 9 justices appointed (by Pres.)/approved (by Congress) for life
- writ of certiorari- must be granted for case to be heard
- rule of four- must agree that case is impt. enough to be heard by supreme court
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| structure of U.S. State Courts |
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- state district/trial courts
- state appeals courts- may be more than one level of these
- highest state court- only one per state (ex.- MD State Supreme Court); rulings may also be appealed to U.S. Supreme Court
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| ways to arrive at U.S. Supreme court |
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- federal district court > federal circuit court > U.S. Supreme Court
- state district court > state court of appeals > state supreme court > U.S. Supreme Court
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name of case citation- how you find case date of decision- year vote- if close vote = precedent not strong author of majority opinion legal topics facts- enough to remember what case is about posture- where case has already been ?s presented- was law applied correctly or not answers- why court decided & how it answered ?s reasoning- justification for how a case was decided Summary of cocurring opinion- agree Summary of dissenting opinion- disagree significance- why case is impt./what it changed
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case citation system New York Times v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964). |
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| Case name, volume number, abbreviation of reporter, page # case starts on, year case was decided |
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| 5 freedoms guaranteed by 1st Amendment |
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- religion
- speech*
- press*
- assembly
- petition
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- only specifically prohibits Congress from making laws that violate 5 guaranteed freedoms
- through interpretation it is now applied to all branches of local, state, federal gov't
- language is subject to interpretation
- what does it mean to "abridge"
- what kinds of speech are protected
- who is member of the "press"
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| why framers protected free expression |
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Definition
- British gov't and censorship w/ advent of printing press - framers want to avoid this type of gov't controlled expression
- prior approval to print
- licensing/bonds
- taxation
- criminal libel laws
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key concepts: - state action
- judicial review- courts serve as check on other branches of gov't & have authority to decide if law/reg is unconstitutional
- violation of 1st amendment
- vagueness- unclear so chills speech
- overbreadth- restricts more speech than necessary
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| reasons to protect free expression |
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- attainment of truth
- self governance- function as democracy
- check on gov't power- exposes gov't corruption
- change w/ stability- social change w/o violence
- individual fulfillment-reach full potential
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| conflict b/t free expression and other social goals |
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- free speech should be protected in abstract
- in concrete situations, must find balance w/ other social/individual goals
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| theories about how to decide where to draw the line b/t freedom of expression and other social goals |
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Definition
- Absolutism- anything that is declared expression is protected (not practical)
- Preferred position balancing- presumption that expression is the preferred interest of people then weighed against other goals; it will take a lot to prove that other interests outweight interest for freedom of expression
- ad hoc balancing- all issues are even
- categorical approaches- define certain types of expression and then decide how much protection they should receive
- clear and present danger test (fallen out of favor)
- type and severity of gov't regulation proposed
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| types of gov't regulation |
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Definition
- technical- setting mechanical/electronic standards for media
- structural- setting guidelines for relationships w/i media industries
- content- setting guidelines for substance of messages; causes most concern
- face strict scrutiny (highest level of review a law can undergo)
- to survive strict scrutiny the law must be both:
- justified by compelling govt. interest
- narrowly drawn- restrict just enough expression to meet specific interest
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| severity of govt. regulation |
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Definition
- prior restraint (most severe)- keep expression out of "marketplace"
- subsequent punishment- consequence after expression has happened
- time/place/manner restriction (least severe)- limits when/where/how expression can occur
- allowed if:
- content neutral- restrictions must be consistent
- serves substantial (reasonable) govt. interest
- alternative means of comm. exist
- narrowly tailored to serve govt. interest
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- presumption against them
- Near v. Minnesota (1931)
- Pentagon Papers case (1971)
- U.S. Supreme court declares that publishing of articles wasn't a threat to natn'l security and failed to upholed prior restraint
- Progressive Magazine case (1979)
- threat to natn'l security if article is published --> uphold prior restraint
- only allowed in very limited circumstances
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Term
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Definition
- 2 publishers considered mission to expose corruption by accusing 2 city officials of being involved w/ gangsters (correct info.)
- publishers charged with violation of public statute that said the article was defamation (not libel) and declared it to be a public nusaince
- case goes to U.S. Supreme Court where previous rulings were reversed
- declared statute unconstitutional b/c it stopped publishers from publishing anything else in the future
- significance: first time the supreme court declared that prior restraint won't be allowed unless in very specific cases
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| when prior restraints are allowed |
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Definition
- national security
- times of war
- obscenity
- to prevent incitements to violence
- false/misleading advertising
- copyright violations
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