Dr Jess Browning

Abuse of the First Amendment Dr Jess Browning

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prevents Congress from making any law respecting an establishment of religion, prohibiting the free exercise of religion, or abridging the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, the right to peaceably assemble, or to petition for a governmental redress of grievances. It was adopted on December 15, 1791, as one of the ten amendments that constitute the Bill of Rights. This book focuses on Freedom of Speech. One justice wrote in the majority opinion that a jacket fell in the category of protected political speech despite the use of an expletive saying one man's vulgarity is another man's lyric. In all cases before the Umited States Supreme Court, the determining factors in a decision deal basically with two tests; 1)balancing test which is based on the 2)clear and present danger test Even in the cases of Libel and Slander the same tests above apply to where actual malice has to be proven. The first test needs to be taken with the second or there is much room for argument. In all the various topical cases the key word is speech taken in the context of the two tests. Basically if the topic is agreed to be speech does the case present a balanced, clear and present danger?