Deck 2: The First Amendment

Question 1

The framers of the Constitution intended the First Amendment to protect citizens from interference with their freedom of expression by state and local governments as well as by the federal government.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

When adopted by the states in 1791, the First Amendment protected citizens' free speech rights from interference by state and local governments as well as from interference by the federal government.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

The Supreme Court disfavors content regulations, yet the First Amendment protects political speech more than it protects advertising.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

During the McCarthy Era of the 1950s, the Supreme Court ruled in Dennis v. United States that a citizen's membership in the Communist Party constituted a clear and present danger to the nation.

Question 5

The Supreme Court has ruled that high school students have a constitutional right to criticize the principal in a school sponsored newspaper.

Question 6

"Fighting words," by definition, incite large groups to riot.

Question 7

"Fighting words" are words delivered face-to-face that provoke another individual to retaliate physically.

Question 8

In Brandenburg v. Ohio, the Supreme Court ruled that threatening to get "revengence" at some distant time constitutes a clear and present danger.

Question 9

In Virginia v. Black, the Supreme Court ruled that burning crosses in any location is always an unprotected expressive act intended to intimidate.

Question 10

In Elonis v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled that Anthony Elonis could be convicted of posting a true threat if the prosecution proved he had an intent to intimidate when he posted a vicious message about his estranged wife.

Question 11

It violates the First Amendment to forbid judicial candidates from speaking on public issues during an election campaign.

Question 12

A board of city commissioners could constitutionally prohibit a civil rights parade that might have a "tendency" to draw hostile opposition.

Question 13

The independent, off-campus student newspaper with website is a traditional public forum.

Question 14

It is constitutional to punish all expression in the legal category of "hate" speech, the Supreme Court has ruled.

Question 15

The European Union may prohibit hateful speech that is protected in the United States.

Question 16

It is constitutional to punish all expression in the legal category of "depicting cruelty to animals," the Supreme Court has ruled.

Question 17

A federal appeals court has ruled (Kowalski v. Berkeley County Schools) that school officials can punish a high school student for off-campus internet posts that harass and bully a fellow student.

Question 18

It is a crime, the Supreme Court has ruled, to falsely claim to have won a military medal.

Question 19

The Supreme Court has ruled the First Amendment prohibits a state university from denying funding to a campus religious magazine if the university funds magazines on other topics.

Question 20

American courts generally will not enforce judgments against American media by foreign courts for libel, hate speech, invasion of privacy and other torts if the expression would be protected under the First Amendment in the United States.

Question 21

Six members of the current Supreme Court would be considered "absolutists."

Question 22

One of the main purposes of First Amendment due process is to prevent government officials from acting arbitrarily when they ban or regulate speech.

Question 23

In Texas v. Johnson, the Supreme Court ruled that flag burners might be punished because the government has a compelling interest in maintaining the peace and preserving the flag as a symbol of national unity.

Question 24

The president of State University can remove bottled fetuses from an anti-abortion display at the university's designated public forum if the fetuses are "highly offensive" to other students.

Question 25

A federal appeals court ruled a sheriff running for reelection violated the First Amendment rights of jailors when the sheriff fired them for "Liking" the sheriff's opponent on Facebook.

Question 26

Courts have ruled the First Amendment permits the government to punish Facebook for hosting posts of fake news.

Question 27

The Supreme Court ruled that Westboro Baptist Church protesters engaged in fighting words when they held up signs near military funerals proclaiming, "God hates fags."

Question 28

The Supreme Court ruled California could ban the sale of violent video games to minors because the state had a compelling interest in preventing antisocial conduct.

Question 29

Public officials may block users from their social media pages on the basis of viewpoint, even if the pages are used for official purposes, because a social media accounts are never considered public forums.

Question 30

In 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that then-President Trump's practice of blocking critics from his Twitter account was unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination.

Question 31

Twitter's policy of banning all political ads leading up to the 2020 presidential election, to avoid the potential spread of misinformation, violated the First Amendment.

Question 32

Social media platforms are free generally to set their own rules regarding the content they host, and they may do so without engaging in actionable censorship of their users because the platforms are not state actors subject to constitutional limits.

Question 33

If a court applies the strict scrutiny test to a government speech regulation, the government must prove to the court the government has a ___________________ for regulating the speech.

A) rational interest
B) compelling interest
C) probable cause
D) reasonable interest
E) none of the above

Question 34

A state university speaker's platform, established in 2010, is _________ public forum.

A) a traditional
B) a dedicated
C) a public content
D) a nonpublic
E) none of the above

Question 35

The City of Midville adopts a law making it illegal for "a large number" to picket at one time. A court likely will find the law ________________.

A) unnecessary
B) unconstitutionally vague
C) content-specific
D) viewpoint-specific
E) an acceptable time, place, and manner restriction

Question 36

The Supreme Court has ruled the government has a compelling interest to stop speech before publication whenever:

A) anonymous, libelous political flyers might be circulated
B) "sensitive" government documents might be published
C) the government declares the national interest "possibly could be harmed"
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 37

A federal appellate court in California ruled that web pages depicting abortion doctors in "Wanted Posters" constitute _________________.

A) a "likely danger"
B) protected political speech
C) unprotected ethnic slurs
D) a true threat
E) none of the above

Question 38

The state university president can remove bottled fetuses from an anti-abortion display at the Student Public Forum if:

A) the fetuses are offensive
B) the president opposes abortions
C) abortions are legal in the state
D) a and b
E) none of the above; the president CANNOT control speech content at a public forum

Question 39

First Amendment rights include the power for a citizen to:

A) refuse to pledge allegiance to a religion or political group
B) solicit money for churches, political parties and ideological causes
C) petition the government for redress of grievances
D) all of the above
E) a and c only

Question 40

Courts and theorists say the First Amendment serves several purposes, EXCEPT:

A) finding Truth
B) promoting free economic markets
C) allowing change with stability
D) serving democratic governance
E) promoting self-fulfillment

Question 41

Which amendments are involved when a court rules that a state violates freedom of expression.

A) 1^st Amendment only
B) 1^st and 5^th amendments
C) 14^th Amendment only
D) 1^st and 14^th
E) all of the above amendments

Question 42

Which of the following is NOT an unconstitutional content-based regulation?

A) a law prohibiting marches by the American Civil Liberties Union
B) a law banning protests aimed at foreign embassies and their government policies
C) a law prohibiting distribution of all leaflets inside university buildings
D) a regulation banning Neo-Nazi marches
E) none of the above is a content-based regulation

Question 43

The government can license the following media operators because they operate on a limited spectrum.

A) cable operators
B) newspaper publishers
C) broadcasters
D) internet service providers
E) advertising agencies

Question 44

In McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission, the Supreme Court ruled that a state statute banning anonymous campaign literature "designed to influence voters" was:

A) a constitutional prohibition on potentially fraudulent campaign literature
B) a constitutional prohibition on potentially libelous campaign literature
C) an unconstitutional subject matter regulation
D) a and b above
E) none of the above

Question 45

A county ordinance prohibits a newspaper, its website and its blogs from publishing stories favoring legalization of marijuana, stories the ordinance says "might encourage young people to engage in harmful activity." When a newspaper or website challenges the law as a violation of the First Amendment, a court will subject the ordinance to:

A) a balancing test
B) a clear and present danger test
C) strict scrutiny
D) the youthful protection exception
E) none of the above

Question 46

When arrested during an antiwar protest in Indiana, Gregory Hess shouted, "We'll take this fucking street later." The Supreme Court ruled Hess's speech to be an example of:

A) a clear and present danger.
B) a true threat
C) obstruction of a police officer
D) fighting words.
E) none of the above

Question 47

None of the following categories of speech enjoy constitutional protection EXCEPT:

A) false advertising
B) obscenity
C) depictions of animal cruelty
D) true threats
E) fighting words

Question 48

A public official's social media page may be a __________ public forum if used to conduct official business and/or to interact with citizens about public affairs.

A) traditional
B) dedicated
C) limited
D) nonpublic
E) B & C

Question 49

Which of the following is generally true about the regulation of user content on social media platforms?

A) the U.S. government cannot, consistent with the First Amendment, require platforms to prohibit hateful user content
B) platforms voluntarily combat hateful user content by creating their own site rules regarding user content
C) a platform's content rules often differ from the principles of First Amendment doctrine
D) all of the above
E) A & B

Question 50

In the 2021 case Mahanoy Area School District v.B. L., the Supreme Court held that:

A) School administrators have a duty to inculcate values respecting freedom of speech
B) Off-campus student speech could be punished if it involved bullying, harassment, or threats aimed at teachers or other students
C) Parents are better suited than administrators, generally, to supervise what students say off campus
D) A school's regulatory interests are diminished if student speech occurs outside of school hours from an off-campus location and if it is transmitted digitally through a personal device
E) All of the above

Question 51

In 2017, the Federal Communications Commission, with a new Republican majority, began the process of overturning "net neutrality" regulations imposed on Internet service providers by the Obama-era FCC. Since then …

A) The U.S. Congress has tried unsuccessfully to pass net neutrality legislation
B) Individual states have tried to pass net neutrality legislation, with California succeeding.
C) Under the Biden administration, Jessica Rosenworcel, the FCC's chairwoman, voiced support for restoring net neutrality regulations.
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 52

Absolutist: Explain briefly why Justices Black and Douglas were characterized as absolutists.

Question 53

Fourteenth Amendment: What is the contribution of the Fourteenth Amendment to the First Amendment freedom of expression? Give an example.

Question 54

Vagueness and Overbreadth: What is the difference between a vague and an overbroad law? Give examples.

Question 55

Bad Tendency Test: Why have courts said good riddance to the "bad tendency" test?

Question 56

True Threat: Define a true threat. Give an example.

Question 57

Self-governance theory: Explain briefly the self-governance theory of freedom of expression championed by Alexander Meiklejohn.

Question 58

Incorporation: What does it mean to "incorporate" the bill of rights into the Fourteenth Amendment? Give an example of incorporation.

Question 59

Net Neutrality: What is net neutrality?

Question 60

Deepfake: What is a deepfake?

Question 61

Content moderation: What is the Facebook Oversight Board?

Question 62

Billy Bob, 28, proclaims on the "I Hate Everyone" web page that he plans to make bombs. "I'm tired of the media splattering garbage all over the place, and I'm not going to take it no more." Bob says. "If the elite media don't stop ruinating the country, we have to do something drastic." Police arrest Bob for expressing fighting words. True? Define fighting words and explain whether the speech fits the definition. Support your conclusion with a comparison to at least one Supreme Court fighting words case.

Question 63

Bob Editor, editor of the Palisades High School newspaper, says on the paper's website that a school math teacher named Mr. Whiz is a "loser" who ought to be "got rid of in any way possible." Principal Book suspends Editor from school for two days for his "offensive" posting which the principal characterizes as a "true threat." The website is run by the school as part of a "New Media Class" taught by Lawrence Lenient, an English teacher. Principal Book calls his policy a reasonable regulation of a nonpublic forum. But the ACLU claims that Principal Book violated Editor's First Amendment rights by censoring political speech on a public forum. Citing Supreme Court cases, explain whether the online newspaper is (l) a public forum and whether Principal Book can punish Editor for (2) "offensive" speech that Book says is a (3) "true threat."