The First Amendment and Freedom of Speech along with the Right to Privacy founded in several of the Amendments to the United States Constitution, were very much the topic of several recent Supreme Court of the United States decisions. In…
Election Fundraising PAC in the Dollars
Over the last several years the Supreme Court of the United States has had anopportunity to rule on several cases that have changed the landscape of Federal electionsnationwide. Without going into the specifics of each case, the essence…
First Amendment doctrine, is it that hard to understand?
Under First Amendment doctrine, a prior restraint is a situation where words or pictures are prevented from being spoken or published. Therefore, if there was a prior restraint against this article you would not have the opportunity to read what…
FCC “Seven Dirty Words” S,P,F,C,CS,MF,T
We all watch television, some of us more than others. Every once in a while we hear or see something on a television show that raises our eyebrows because of the language that is used or the graphics that are…
First Amendment Lawyers Association 2012
From February 15th through the 18th James S. Benjamin and Daniel Aaronson were in San Diego, California attending the February meeting of the First Amendment Lawyers’ Association. Daniel Aaronson is currently the Vice-President of this organization which now has close…
School First Amendment, we still have a lot to learn
When we were all growing up, at least those of our generation, we had complaints about our teachers, our principals and our schools. Sometimes we would tell them to our friends when speaking in a group, sometimes over the phone,…
FALA First Amendment Lawyers’ Association meeting
Last month the First Amendment Lawyers’ Association (FALA) held its summer meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Expecting the cooler temperatures that the State usually has to offer, we were incredibly surprised by the high 90’s temperatures that we arrived to. It…
Combating terrorism trumps Free Speech
Many of you probably remember exactly where you were when you first learned about the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. What most of us have forgotten is what those attacks did to the American psyche at the time. The…
Title 18 U.S.C. Section 48 ruled unconstitutional
Title 18 U.S.C. Section 48 criminalized for up to five years in prison anyone who knowingly created, sold, or possessed a depiction of animal cruelty if it was done for commercial gain. The statute did not address the underlying acts…
Ain’t no cure for the Summertime Blues
For whatever reasons it always seems that the summer months have less news on the First Amendment front or involving Adult Entertainment. Maybe it’s because the courts, lawyers and even the police are on vacation, as well as many City…