Question 1

Under New York Times v. Sullivan (1964), a public official cannot prevail in a libel suit unless he or she can show that the defendant's statements were made with "______."

Accepted Answer

A)   criminal negligence
B)   actual malice
C)   reckless abandon
D)   defamatory intent B

Question 2

In The Florida Star v. B.J.F. (1989), the Court overturned an ____________ verdict against a newspaper that reported the name of a rape victim, where the newspaper had obtained the victim's name from a police report that had been released in violation of state law and the established police department policy.

Accepted Answer

A)   libel
B)   slander
C)   defamation of character
D)   invasion of privacy D

Question 3

Which of the following forms of expression is least likely to be accorded First Amendment protection?

Accepted Answer

A)   commercial advertising
B)   symbolic political speech
C)   libel
D)   questionable scientific claims C

Question 4

Does the First Amendment protect a citizen's right to publicly advocate terrorism against the United States, at least in the abstract?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Does the First Amendment protect a citizen's...

Question 5

In Gitlow v. New York (1925), the Supreme Court upheld a conviction under New York's _________________, which prohibited advocacy of the overthrow of government "by force or violence."

Accepted Answer

A)   Criminal Anarchy Act
B)   Clear and Present Danger Act
C)   Seditious Libel Act
D)   Smith Act

Question 6

Writing for the Supreme Court in Roth v. United States (1957), Justice Brennan expressed the view that obscenity ______________________________.

Accepted Answer

A)   was utterly without redeeming social importance
B)   was protected by the First Amendment
C)   was not a crime under federal law
D)   none of the above

Question 7

By the early 1950s, ______________, with its emphasis on the alleged "communist menace" to internal security, had achieved national prominence.

Accepted Answer

A)   McCarthyism
B)   conservatism
C)   Progressivism
D)   none of the above

Question 8

Over the years Supreme Court justices have advocated a variety of positions regarding freedom of expression, ranging from the ___________ adopted by Hugo Black to the ______ approach favored by John M. Harlan.

Accepted Answer

A)   clear and present danger test; clear and probable danger
B)   bad tendency test; absolutist position
C)   ad hoc balancing; clear and present danger
D)   absolutist position; ad hoc balancing

Question 9

In Commentaries on the Laws of England, Vol. IV (1769), ______________ stated the rule against prior restraint in the context of freedom of the press: "The liberty of the press is indeed essential to the nature of a free state; but this consists in laying no previous restraints upon publications, and not in freedom from censure for criminal matter when published."

Accepted Answer

A)   Thomas Jefferson
B)   Alexander Hamilton
C)   John Adams
D)   Sir William Blackstone

Question 10

In ___________________, a statute aimed at suppressing commercial trafficking of depictions of animal cruelty, such as "crush videos" where small animals are crushed underfoot, was invalidated by the Supreme Court because the statute created "a criminal prohibition of alarming breadth."

Accepted Answer

A)   United States v. Stevens (2010) 
B)   Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union (1997) 
C)   Coates v. City of Cincinnati (1971) 
D)   none of the above

Question 11

Under what circumstances is the spending of one's money an act of free speech protected by the First Amendment?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Under what circumstances is the spending of...

Question 12

In Tinker v. Des Moines Community School District (1969), John and Mary Beth Tinker wore ____________ to school to protest American involvement in the Vietnam War.

Accepted Answer

A)   military fatigues
B)   peace signs
C)   black armbands
D)   North Vietnamese flags

Question 13

In ________________, the Supreme Court struck down the Helms Amendment to the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992, which required cable systems that lease channels to commercial providers of "patently offensive" programming to scramble the signals of those channels and make them available only to subscribers who specifically request access.

Accepted Answer

A)   Denver Area Educational Telecommunications Consortium v. Federal Communications Commission (1996) 
B)   Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation (1978) 
C)   Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union (1997) 
D)   none of the above

Question 14

Can a public school constitutionally restrict students from "wearing items that might convey a political message"?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Can a public school constitutionally restrict students...

Question 15

The Supreme Court has consistently maintained that ____________ is not protected by the First Amendment.

Accepted Answer

A)   obscenity
B)   symbolic speech
C)   political association
D)   all of the above

Question 16

In _________________, the Supreme Court upheld a Florida court's injunction that prohibited antiabortion protesters from coming within a 36-foot buffer zone around the entrances to an abortion clinic.

Accepted Answer

A)   Adderley v. Florida (1966) 
B)   Schenck v. Pro-Choice Network (1997) 
C)   Madsen v. Women's Health Center (1994) 
D)   none of the above

Question 17

Writing for the Court in Palko v. Connecticut (1937), Justice __________ characterized freedom of speech as "the matrix, the indispensable condition, of nearly every other form of freedom."

Accepted Answer

A)   Benjamin Cardozo
B)   Hugo Black
C)   Robert Jackson
D)   Felix Frankfurter

Question 18

As stated by Justice Brennan, the standard in defamation cases "prohibits a public official from recovering damages for a defamatory falsehood relating to his official conduct unless he proves that the statement was made with ___________, that is, with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not."

Accepted Answer

A)   ill will
B)   hatred of the public official
C)   actual malice
D)   actual discontent

Question 19

In Brandenburg v. Ohio, (1969), the Supreme Court invalidated a state _______ statute, thus explicitly overruling Whitney v. California.

Accepted Answer

A)   libel
B)   obscenity
C)   criminal syndicalism
D)   vagrancy

Question 20

For a brief period during the administration of President John Adams, the national government sought to suppress public criticism through enforcement of the __________, passed by Congress in 1798.

Accepted Answer

A)   Seditious Libel Act
B)   Northwest Ordinance
C)   Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
D)   Alien and Sedition Acts

Exam 3: Expressive Freedom and the First Amendment

Under New York Times v. Sullivan (1964) , a public official cannot prevail in a libel suit unless he or she can show that the defendant's statements were made with "______."

Which of the following forms of expression is least likely to be accorded First Amendment protection?

Does the First Amendment protect a citizen's right to publicly advocate terrorism against the United States, at least in the abstract?

In Gitlow v. New York (1925) , the Supreme Court upheld a conviction under New York's _________________, which prohibited advocacy of the overthrow of government "by force or violence."

Writing for the Supreme Court in Roth v. United States (1957) , Justice Brennan expressed the view that obscenity ______________________________.

By the early 1950s, ______________, with its emphasis on the alleged "communist menace" to internal security, had achieved national prominence.

Over the years Supreme Court justices have advocated a variety of positions regarding freedom of expression, ranging from the _____ adopted by Hugo Black to the approach favored by John M. Harlan.

In ___________________, a statute aimed at suppressing commercial trafficking of depictions of animal cruelty, such as "crush videos" where small animals are crushed underfoot, was invalidated by the Supreme Court because the statute created "a criminal prohibition of alarming breadth."

Under what circumstances is the spending of one's money an act of free speech protected by the First Amendment?

In Tinker v. Des Moines Community School District (1969) , John and Mary Beth Tinker wore ____________ to school to protest American involvement in the Vietnam War.

Can a public school constitutionally restrict students from "wearing items that might convey a political message"?

The Supreme Court has consistently maintained that ____________ is not protected by the First Amendment.

In _________________, the Supreme Court upheld a Florida court's injunction that prohibited antiabortion protesters from coming within a 36-foot buffer zone around the entrances to an abortion clinic.

Writing for the Court in Palko v. Connecticut (1937) , Justice __________ characterized freedom of speech as "the matrix, the indispensable condition, of nearly every other form of freedom."

In Brandenburg v. Ohio, (1969) , the Supreme Court invalidated a state _______ statute, thus explicitly overruling Whitney v. California.

For a brief period during the administration of President John Adams, the national government sought to suppress public criticism through enforcement of the __________, passed by Congress in 1798.