Facts of the Case Jay Near, a publisher in Minneapolis, printed articles in The Saturday Press accusing local officials of being involved with gangsters. His paper often attacked public officials with claims of corruption, many of which were anti-Semitic and offensive. Minnesota officials used a state “gag law” that allowed courts to stop the publication […]

Facts of the Case In 1992, Congress passed the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act, which included “must-carry rules.” These rules required cable television systems to carry local broadcast stations. Congress argued this preserved free, over-the-air broadcasting and ensured that smaller local stations would not be shut out by powerful cable networks. Turner Broadcasting […]

Facts of the Case Law enforcement officers, executing a search warrant for alleged bookmaking, entered the home of Robert Eli Stanley in Georgia. While searching, they discovered and seized reels of film they believed to be obscene. Stanley was charged and convicted under a Georgia law making private possession of obscene material a crime. He […]

Facts of the Case In Virginia, a state law banned cross burning if it was carried out “with the intent to intimidate,” and the statute also declared that any public cross burning would automatically be considered evidence of intent to intimidate. The case consolidated two incidents: All three were convicted under the Virginia statute. They […]

Facts of the Case Harold Spence, a college student in Washington state, displayed an American flag outside his apartment window. He had attached a large peace symbol made of removable black tape to protest the U.S. invasion of Cambodia and the Kent State shootings. He was convicted under a state law prohibiting the exhibition of […]

Facts of the Case Walter Chaplinsky, a Jehovah’s Witness, was distributing religious literature on the street in Rochester, New Hampshire. His speech attracted a hostile crowd, and after an altercation with police, Chaplinsky called the town marshal a “God-damned racketeer” and a “damned Fascist.” He was arrested under a New Hampshire law that prohibited intentionally […]

Facts of the Case Brandi Levy (“B.L.”), a high school student in Mahanoy, Pennsylvania, did not make the varsity cheerleading team. Upset, she posted a Snapchat message over the weekend, off school grounds, containing vulgar language criticizing the school and the cheerleading program (“F*** school, f*** softball, f*** cheer, f*** everything”). The post was visible […]