Constitutional Law for criminal justice, Fourteenth Edition Jacqueline R. Kanovitz © taylor & francis, 2015 Chapter 2 Freedom of Speech © taylor & francis, 2015 Introduction Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. -- The First Amendment © taylor & francis, 2015 Concept of Speech The concept of speech under the First Amendment (Figure 2.2) includes the right to: Gather information Maintain ideas and beliefs Communicate them to others Engage in ideological silence Engage in symbolic speech © taylor & francis, 2015 Speech and Conduct The First Amendment distinguishes between the message and conduct associated with the delivery. Restrictions on conduct are valid when they further a substantial government interest that is unrelated to suppressing the message. The general laws of the community (i.e., trespass, breach of the peace, disorderly conduct, blocking public passage, etc.) may be enforced against people engaged in conduct associated with speech. Restrictions on content are invalid unless the speech falls within an excluded category © taylor & francis, 2015 Excluded Speech Categories Although free speech generally means freedom to speak on any matter, a small number of speech categories have been excluded from the First Amendment: Obscenity Child pornography Fighting words Speech integral to criminal conduct Incitement to immediate unlawful action © taylor & francis, 2015 Obscenity and Child Pornography The test for obscenity established in Miller v. California. The work, taken as a whole, must: Appeal to prurient interests Depict hard-core sexual acts previously defined by state law in a patently offensive way Lack serious literary, artistic, political, scientific, or other value Child pornography does not have to satisfy the Miller test to be banned when real children are used as subjects. © taylor & francis, 2015 Fighting Words Whether language constitutes "fighting words" requires an examination both of the words used and the context in which they are uttered. A person may be arrested for using "fighting words" only if the person's language is: Abusive, derisive, or insulting Spoken in a face-to-face encounter Under circumstances inherently likely to provoke the average person to retaliate with violence © taylor & francis, 2015 Speech Integral to Criminal Conduct The First Amendment does not protect speech integral to criminal conduct, such as such as blackmail, bribery, extortion, perjury, threats, etc. To constitute a true threat, the speaker must intent his statement to be understood as a serious expression of intent to commit an act of unlawful violence against a particular person or group of persons. © taylor & francis, 2015 Incitement to Immediate Unlawful Action Speech advocating violence or other unlawful actions cease.