Deck 9: First Amendment Freedoms of Expression, Association, and Press

Question 1

Which case (majority opinion) adopted the "bad tendency" test as a means for resolving disputes involving the freedom of speech?

A) Gitlow v. New York
B) Brandenburg v. Ohio
C) Schenck v. United States
D) Virginia v. Hicks

Answer 1

Gitlow v. New York

Question 2

Which Supreme Court Justice has made it known he would like to review restrictions on commercial speech under strict scrutiny analysis?

A) Sonia Sotomayor
B) Clarence Thomas
C) Anthony Kennedy
D) David Souter

Answer 2

Clarence Thomas

Question 3

If a professor at a public school imposes a policy barring students from wearing all types of hats in the classroom, this would most appropriately be labeled as a ________.

A) regulation of protected speech
B) ban on protected speech
C) content-based limitation on political speech
D) neutral law that may impact students' expression

Answer 3

neutral law that may impact students' expression

Question 4

Which of the following cases actually sided with the rights of individual expression under the first amendment?
I. Gitlow v. New York
II. Texas v. Johnson
III. Brandenburg v. Ohio
IV. Schenck v. United States

A) I, II, III
B) II, III
C) II, V
D) I, II

Question 5

If a broadcast journalist reports false information about a non-public figure, thereby resulting in damages to a victim, what would this illustrate?

A) reporter's privilege
B) slander
C) shield law
D) libel

Question 6

What problem did James Madison address in Federalist 10 that relates to the potential for individual interests to override the common good?

A) lobbying groups
B) splinter groups
C) factions
D) bureaucrats

Question 7

Within free speech jurisprudence, what term is used to describe the idea that multiple ideas or forms of expression should compete against one another so that others may consider them?

A) marketplace of ideas
B) global competition
C) ideas exchange commission
D) quid pro quo

Question 8

What case BEST illustrates symbolic speech?

A) Brandenburg v. Ohio
B) Schenck v. United States
C) Texas v. Johnson
D) Gitlow v. New York

Question 9

A law that regulates more speech than is necessary to accomplish a government objective will most likely violate which doctrine?

A) vagueness
B) clear and present danger
C) bad tendency
D) overbreadth

Question 10

Which of the following is NOT considered a public forum within free speech jurisprudence?

A) public sidewalks
B) public parks
C) courthouse lawns
D) prisons

Question 11

Which of the following is NOT a standard used to judge obscenity under term in Miller v. California (1973)?

A) the work taken as a whole involves deviant sexual activity
B) the work taken as a whole appeals to a prurient interest in sex
C) the work portrays sexual conduct in a patently offensive way
D) the work lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT considered per se unprotected speech under the First Amendment?

A) offensive speech
B) fighting words
C) child pornography
D) false commercial advertising

Question 13

A false publication in a newspaper that causes damages to a non-public figure is called?

A) libel
B) slander
C) falsification
D) written tort

Question 14

What element must be proven in order for a public figure to successfully bring a defamation case?

A) libel
B) slander
C) malice
D) hostile intent

Question 15

What constitutional standard of scrutiny is applied to regulations of commercial speech?

A) rational basis
B) strict scrutiny
C) intermediate scrutiny
D) business necessity

Question 16

Which liberty is NOT specifically stated in the text of the first amendment?

A) freedom of speech
B) freedom of the press
C) freedom of association
D) freedom to petition government for redress of grievances

Question 17

What name is given to certain forms of state legislation designed to protect news reporters from revealing the identity of their confidential news sources?

A) reporter shield laws
B) confidentiality statutes
C) first amendment enhancement statutes
D) confidential source protection laws

Question 18

Where the press seeks to cover certain high-profile judicial proceedings, the courts must weigh the right of the defendant to receive a fair trial, as protected by the ________ Amendment, against the right of a free press.

A) Fourth
B) Fifth
C) Sixth
D) Eighth

Question 19

Under the strict scrutiny test, the government must prove that its policy is ________ to promote a ________ governmental interest.

A) necessary/reasonable
B) reasonable/compelling
C) necessary/compelling
D) substantially related/compelling

Question 20

What type of constitutional scrutiny would most likely be applied to a governmental ban on political speech?

A) rational basis
B) intermediate scrutiny
C) strict scrutiny
D) Central Hudson test

Question 21

A law regulating speech that fails to sufficiently define its terms would most likely be unconstitutional based on the ________ doctrine.

A) overbreadth
B) vagueness
C) strict scrutiny
D) rational basis

Question 22

In which U.S. Supreme Court case did the Court hold that New Jersey could not enforce a state public accommodations law, which barred discrimination based on sexual orientation based on the organization's right to the freedom of association?

A) Boy Scouts of America v. Dale
B) Schenck v. United States
C) Texas v. Johnson
D) Gitlow v. New York

Question 23

Congress has authority to regulate the desecration of the flag of the United States, even if the desecration is considered symbolic speech.

Question 24

In examining the government's regulation of speech, the first issue that must be addressed is whether the government is regulating the expression of ideas or harmful behavior.

Question 25

Under the Brandenburg Test, the government may not suppress speech unless the speech is "directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and . . . likely to incite or produce such action."

Question 26

The balancing test used to judge freedom of speech controversies has evolved over time.

Question 27

The overbreadth doctrine is a constitutional theory of due process that generally provides that the government cannot regulate or prohibit more speech than is necessary to address the identified harm.

Question 28

A law that bans "indecent"
communications on the Internet, without a more precise definition, and not a readily and commonly understood term, would be considered a violation of the First Amendment under the overbreadth doctrine.

Question 29

Although the government may prohibit depictions of child pornography, it may not ban all forms of expression that "appear to be"
child pornography because such a ban is likely to capture expression that does not include depictions of actual children.

Question 30

The bad tendency test was the earliest test used by the U.S. Supreme Court to interpret and apply the Free Speech Clause.

Question 31

A public sidewalk is considered to be a nonpublic forum.

Question 32

In most cases, the government will be given greater leeway to regulate speech in nonpublic forums than in public forums.

Question 33

In Morse v. Frederick (2007), the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a public school's suspension of a student who held a vaguely written pro-drug message at a school-sponsored.

Question 34

The freedom of association is based on the language in the Fourth Amendment.

Question 35

Libel is a form of unprotected speech under the First Amendment.

Question 36

A prior restraint is an attempt by government to prevent or restrain expression, including press publication, before it is uttered.

Question 37

In cases where the government attempts to block access to information by the press, the First Amendment interests of the press are often balanced against other competing constitutional rights and powers.

Question 38

Viewpoint ________ means that the government does not favor one side or another within a given subject matter of speech.

Question 39

Subject-matter neutrality, also known as ________ neutrality, means that the government, in attempting to regulate speech, is not discriminating against speech based on its content or subject matter.

Question 40

The ________ doctrine is a constitutional theory of due process that generally provides that the government cannot regulate or prohibit more speech than is necessary to address the identified harm.

Question 41

The overbreadth doctrine is grounded in notions of due ________.

Question 42

In FCC v. Fox (2012), the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) procedure used to sanction television stations for "indecency"
violations involving "fleeting expletives"
broadcast during live programs on the basis of the ________ doctrine.

Question 43

Public ________ are properties historically associated with the exercise of First Amendment rights, including public sidewalks, parks, and cartilages outside courthouses and statehouses.

Question 44

Military bases, jails, and certain interior portions of public buildings are considered ________ forums and places that are not historically associated with the exercise of First Amendment rights.

Question 45

The freedom of association is based on the language in the ________ Amendment.

Question 46

A reporter shield law protects reporters from being compelled to reveal their ________ news sources.

Question 47

A prior ________ is an attempt by government to prevent or restrain expression, including press publication, before it is uttered.

Question 48

Obscenity is a form of ________ sexual expression.

Question 49

The Miller Test is a standard used to judge whether a material is ________.

Question 50

Match the term its description .

-Miller Test

A) expression that is directly aimed at insulting, derogating, or intimidating a particular class of individuals, often based on race, sex, religion, or ethnicity
B) a legal standard requiring the government to prove that its policy is necessary (or narrowly tailored) to promote a compelling governmental interest
C) a constitutional theory of due process that maintains that the government cannot impose legal standards that the average person cannot or is not likely to understand
D) a standard used to judge whether a material is obscene
E) a constitutional theory of due process that generally provides that the government cannot regulate or prohibit more speech than is necessary to address the identified harm
F) the government, in attempting to regulate speech, is not discriminating against speech based on its content or subject matter
G) properties historically associated with the exercise of First Amendment rights, including public sidewalks, parks, and cartilages outside courthouses and statehouses
H) a category of unprotected speech that "by their very utterance inflict injury or tend
To incite an immediate breach of the peace"

Question 51

Match the term its description .

-hate speech

A) expression that is directly aimed at insulting, derogating, or intimidating a particular class of individuals, often based on race, sex, religion, or ethnicity
B) a legal standard requiring the government to prove that its policy is necessary (or narrowly tailored) to promote a compelling governmental interest
C) a constitutional theory of due process that maintains that the government cannot impose legal standards that the average person cannot or is not likely to understand
D) a standard used to judge whether a material is obscene
E) a constitutional theory of due process that generally provides that the government cannot regulate or prohibit more speech than is necessary to address the identified harm
F) the government, in attempting to regulate speech, is not discriminating against speech based on its content or subject matter
G) properties historically associated with the exercise of First Amendment rights, including public sidewalks, parks, and cartilages outside courthouses and statehouses
H) a category of unprotected speech that "by their very utterance inflict injury or tend To incite an immediate breach of the peace"

Question 52

Match the term its description .

-strict scrutiny test

A) expression that is directly aimed at insulting, derogating, or intimidating a particular class of individuals, often based on race, sex, religion, or ethnicity
B) a legal standard requiring the government to prove that its policy is necessary (or narrowly tailored) to promote a compelling governmental interest
C) a constitutional theory of due process that maintains that the government cannot impose legal standards that the average person cannot or is not likely to understand
D) a standard used to judge whether a material is obscene
E) a constitutional theory of due process that generally provides that the government cannot regulate or prohibit more speech than is necessary to address the identified harm
F) the government, in attempting to regulate speech, is not discriminating against speech based on its content or subject matter
G) properties historically associated with the exercise of First Amendment rights, including public sidewalks, parks, and cartilages outside courthouses and statehouses
H) a category of unprotected speech that "by their very utterance inflict injury or tend To incite an immediate breach of the peace"

Question 53

Match the term its description .

-public forums

A) expression that is directly aimed at insulting, derogating, or intimidating a particular class of individuals, often based on race, sex, religion, or ethnicity
B) a legal standard requiring the government to prove that its policy is necessary (or narrowly tailored) to promote a compelling governmental interest
C) a constitutional theory of due process that maintains that the government cannot impose legal standards that the average person cannot or is not likely to understand
D) a standard used to judge whether a material is obscene
E) a constitutional theory of due process that generally provides that the government cannot regulate or prohibit more speech than is necessary to address the identified harm
F) the government, in attempting to regulate speech, is not discriminating against speech based on its content or subject matter
G) properties historically associated with the exercise of First Amendment rights, including public sidewalks, parks, and cartilages outside courthouses and statehouses
H) a category of unprotected speech that "by their very utterance inflict injury or tend To incite an immediate breach of the peace"

Question 54

Match the term its description .

-content neutrality

A) expression that is directly aimed at insulting, derogating, or intimidating a particular class of individuals, often based on race, sex, religion, or ethnicity
B) a legal standard requiring the government to prove that its policy is necessary (or narrowly tailored) to promote a compelling governmental interest
C) a constitutional theory of due process that maintains that the government cannot impose legal standards that the average person cannot or is not likely to understand
D) a standard used to judge whether a material is obscene
E) a constitutional theory of due process that generally provides that the government cannot regulate or prohibit more speech than is necessary to address the identified harm
F) the government, in attempting to regulate speech, is not discriminating against speech based on its content or subject matter
G) properties historically associated with the exercise of First Amendment rights, including public sidewalks, parks, and cartilages outside courthouses and statehouses
H) a category of unprotected speech that "by their very utterance inflict injury or tend To incite an immediate breach of the peace"

Question 55

Match the term its description .

-vagueness doctrine

A) expression that is directly aimed at insulting, derogating, or intimidating a particular class of individuals, often based on race, sex, religion, or ethnicity
B) a legal standard requiring the government to prove that its policy is necessary (or narrowly tailored) to promote a compelling governmental interest
C) a constitutional theory of due process that maintains that the government cannot impose legal standards that the average person cannot or is not likely to understand
D) a standard used to judge whether a material is obscene
E) a constitutional theory of due process that generally provides that the government cannot regulate or prohibit more speech than is necessary to address the identified harm
F) the government, in attempting to regulate speech, is not discriminating against speech based on its content or subject matter
G) properties historically associated with the exercise of First Amendment rights, including public sidewalks, parks, and cartilages outside courthouses and statehouses
H) a category of unprotected speech that "by their very utterance inflict injury or tend To incite an immediate breach of the peace"

Question 56

Match the term its description .

-overbreadth doctrine

A) expression that is directly aimed at insulting, derogating, or intimidating a particular class of individuals, often based on race, sex, religion, or ethnicity
B) a legal standard requiring the government to prove that its policy is necessary (or narrowly tailored) to promote a compelling governmental interest
C) a constitutional theory of due process that maintains that the government cannot impose legal standards that the average person cannot or is not likely to understand
D) a standard used to judge whether a material is obscene
E) a constitutional theory of due process that generally provides that the government cannot regulate or prohibit more speech than is necessary to address the identified harm
F) the government, in attempting to regulate speech, is not discriminating against speech based on its content or subject matter
G) properties historically associated with the exercise of First Amendment rights, including public sidewalks, parks, and cartilages outside courthouses and statehouses
H) a category of unprotected speech that "by their very utterance inflict injury or tend To incite an immediate breach of the peace"

Question 57

Match the term its description .

-fighting words

A) expression that is directly aimed at insulting, derogating, or intimidating a particular class of individuals, often based on race, sex, religion, or ethnicity
B) a legal standard requiring the government to prove that its policy is necessary (or narrowly tailored) to promote a compelling governmental interest
C) a constitutional theory of due process that maintains that the government cannot impose legal standards that the average person cannot or is not likely to understand
D) a standard used to judge whether a material is obscene
E) a constitutional theory of due process that generally provides that the government cannot regulate or prohibit more speech than is necessary to address the identified harm
F) the government, in attempting to regulate speech, is not discriminating against speech based on its content or subject matter
G) properties historically associated with the exercise of First Amendment rights, including public sidewalks, parks, and cartilages outside courthouses and statehouses
H) a category of unprotected speech that "by their very utterance inflict injury or tend To incite an immediate breach of the peace"

Question 58

Match the term its description .

-factions

A) a governmental policy barring a particular form of expression at any time or place or in any manner
B) a test used by the Court to interpret and apply the Free Speech Clause, which allows government to predetermine and ban types of speech that may have a tendency to bring about harm, regardless of whether the speech, in actuality, poses a clear and present danger
C) a phrase used in some free speech cases to describe the type of environment the First Amendment fosters for individuals to sell, purchase, and evaluate different ideas through speech
D) a term used to require the government not to favor one side or another within a given subject matter of speech
E) individual or isolated interests that can destroy or substantially impair government if they are allowed to override the common good
F) places that are not historically associated with the exercise of First Amendment rights. Such locations may include military bases, jails, and certain interior portions of public buildings
G) a government restriction on speech that restricts speech but allows the expression in certain given contexts

Question 59

Match the term its description .

-marketplace of ideas

A) a governmental policy barring a particular form of expression at any time or place or in any manner
B) a test used by the Court to interpret and apply the Free Speech Clause, which allows government to predetermine and ban types of speech that may have a tendency to bring about harm, regardless of whether the speech, in actuality, poses a clear and present danger
C) a phrase used in some free speech cases to describe the type of environment the First Amendment fosters for individuals to sell, purchase, and evaluate different ideas through speech
D) a term used to require the government not to favor one side or another within a given subject matter of speech
E) individual or isolated interests that can destroy or substantially impair government if they are allowed to override the common good
F) places that are not historically associated with the exercise of First Amendment rights. Such locations may include military bases, jails, and certain interior portions of public buildings
G) a government restriction on speech that restricts speech but allows the expression in certain given contexts

Question 60

Match the term its description .

-nonpublic forums

A) a governmental policy barring a particular form of expression at any time or place or in any manner
B) a test used by the Court to interpret and apply the Free Speech Clause, which allows government to predetermine and ban types of speech that may have a tendency to bring about harm, regardless of whether the speech, in actuality, poses a clear and present danger
C) a phrase used in some free speech cases to describe the type of environment the First Amendment fosters for individuals to sell, purchase, and evaluate different ideas through speech
D) a term used to require the government not to favor one side or another within a given subject matter of speech
E) individual or isolated interests that can destroy or substantially impair government if they are allowed to override the common good
F) places that are not historically associated with the exercise of First Amendment rights. Such locations may include military bases, jails, and certain interior portions of public buildings
G) a government restriction on speech that restricts speech but allows the expression in certain given contexts

Question 61

Match the term its description .

-viewpoint neutrality

A) a governmental policy barring a particular form of expression at any time or place or in any manner
B) a test used by the Court to interpret and apply the Free Speech Clause, which allows government to predetermine and ban types of speech that may have a tendency to bring about harm, regardless of whether the speech, in actuality, poses a clear and present danger
C) a phrase used in some free speech cases to describe the type of environment the First Amendment fosters for individuals to sell, purchase, and evaluate different ideas through speech
D) a term used to require the government not to favor one side or another within a given subject matter of speech
E) individual or isolated interests that can destroy or substantially impair government if they are allowed to override the common good
F) places that are not historically associated with the exercise of First Amendment rights. Such locations may include military bases, jails, and certain interior portions of public buildings
G) a government restriction on speech that restricts speech but allows the expression in certain given contexts

Question 62

Match the term its description .

-time, place, and manner restriction

A) a governmental policy barring a particular form of expression at any time or place or in any manner
B) a test used by the Court to interpret and apply the Free Speech Clause, which allows government to predetermine and ban types of speech that may have a tendency to bring about harm, regardless of whether the speech, in actuality, poses a clear and present danger
C) a phrase used in some free speech cases to describe the type of environment the First Amendment fosters for individuals to sell, purchase, and evaluate different ideas through speech
D) a term used to require the government not to favor one side or another within a given subject matter of speech
E) individual or isolated interests that can destroy or substantially impair government if they are allowed to override the common good
F) places that are not historically associated with the exercise of First Amendment rights. Such locations may include military bases, jails, and certain interior portions of public buildings
G) a government restriction on speech that restricts speech but allows the expression in certain given contexts

Question 63

Match the term its description .

-bad tendency test

A) a governmental policy barring a particular form of expression at any time or place or in any manner
B) a test used by the Court to interpret and apply the Free Speech Clause, which allows government to predetermine and ban types of speech that may have a tendency to bring about harm, regardless of whether the speech, in actuality, poses a clear and present danger
C) a phrase used in some free speech cases to describe the type of environment the First Amendment fosters for individuals to sell, purchase, and evaluate different ideas through speech
D) a term used to require the government not to favor one side or another within a given subject matter of speech
E) individual or isolated interests that can destroy or substantially impair government if they are allowed to override the common good
F) places that are not historically associated with the exercise of First Amendment rights. Such locations may include military bases, jails, and certain interior portions of public buildings
G) a government restriction on speech that restricts speech but allows the expression in certain given contexts

Question 64

Match the term its description .

-ban on speech

A) a governmental policy barring a particular form of expression at any time or place or in any manner
B) a test used by the Court to interpret and apply the Free Speech Clause, which allows government to predetermine and ban types of speech that may have a tendency to bring about harm, regardless of whether the speech, in actuality, poses a clear and present danger
C) a phrase used in some free speech cases to describe the type of environment the First Amendment fosters for individuals to sell, purchase, and evaluate different ideas through speech
D) a term used to require the government not to favor one side or another within a given subject matter of speech
E) individual or isolated interests that can destroy or substantially impair government if they are allowed to override the common good
F) places that are not historically associated with the exercise of First Amendment rights. Such locations may include military bases, jails, and certain interior portions of public buildings
G) a government restriction on speech that restricts speech but allows the expression in certain given contexts

Question 65

What is content neutrality?

Question 66

What is the difference between the vagueness and overbreadth doctrines?

Question 67

What is the difference between a public forum and a nonpublic forum?

Question 68

What are the forms of speech that are not protected under the First Amendment?

Question 69

What is the basis for the right to the freedom of association?

Question 70

What does a reporter shield law protect?

Question 71

Discuss whether you would support or oppose a constitutional amendment that would allow the United States Congress to prohibit statutorily the physical desecration of the flag of the United States. Explain your position.

Question 72

In Synder v. Phelps, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a funeral protest by members of the Westboro Baptist Church was protected by the First Amendment and that a jury verdict siding with a family whose son had died on active duty in Iraq could not stand. In an 8-1 ruling, the Court upheld the right of protestors to express their views that the deaths of ­American service members in the Iraq War was the result of the nation's tolerant views toward homosexuality. The Court found that, although the protesters' expression may be viewed as outrageous and offense by many, it nonetheless was protected because it related to matters of public concern and was expressed in a public forum. Discuss your reaction to the Snyder v. Phelps case.