Congress Shall Make No Law: The First Amendment, Unprotected Expression, and the U.S. Supreme Court
The First Amendment declares that 'Congress shall make no law. .. abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.. .. ' Yet, in the following two hundred years, Congress and the states have sought repeatedly to curb these freedoms. The Supreme Court of the United States in turn gradually expanded First Amendment protection for freedom of expression but also defined certain categories of expression_obscenity, defamation, commercial speech , and 'fighting words' or disruptive expression-as constitutionally unprotected. From the Alien and Sedition Act of 1798 to the most recent cases to come before the Supreme Court, noted legal scholar David M. O'Brien provides the first comprehensive examination of these exceptions to the absolute command of the First Amendment, providing a history of each category of unprotected speech and putting into bold relief the larger questions of what kinds of expression should (and should not) receive First Amendment protection. O'Brien provides readers interested in civil liberties, constitutional history and law, and the U. S. Supreme Court a treasure trove of information and ideas about how to think about the First Amendment.
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Congress Shall Make No Law: The First Amendment, Unprotected Expression, and the U.S. Supreme Court
The First Amendment declares that 'Congress shall make no law. .. abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.. .. ' Yet, in the following two hundred years, Congress and the states have sought repeatedly to curb these freedoms. The Supreme Court of the United States in turn gradually expanded First Amendment protection for freedom of expression but also defined certain categories of expression_obscenity, defamation, commercial speech , and 'fighting words' or disruptive expression-as constitutionally unprotected. From the Alien and Sedition Act of 1798 to the most recent cases to come before the Supreme Court, noted legal scholar David M. O'Brien provides the first comprehensive examination of these exceptions to the absolute command of the First Amendment, providing a history of each category of unprotected speech and putting into bold relief the larger questions of what kinds of expression should (and should not) receive First Amendment protection. O'Brien provides readers interested in civil liberties, constitutional history and law, and the U. S. Supreme Court a treasure trove of information and ideas about how to think about the First Amendment.
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Congress Shall Make No Law: The First Amendment, Unprotected Expression, and the U.S. Supreme Court

Congress Shall Make No Law: The First Amendment, Unprotected Expression, and the U.S. Supreme Court

by David M. O'Brien
Congress Shall Make No Law: The First Amendment, Unprotected Expression, and the U.S. Supreme Court

Congress Shall Make No Law: The First Amendment, Unprotected Expression, and the U.S. Supreme Court

by David M. O'Brien

Hardcover

$59.00 
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Overview

The First Amendment declares that 'Congress shall make no law. .. abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.. .. ' Yet, in the following two hundred years, Congress and the states have sought repeatedly to curb these freedoms. The Supreme Court of the United States in turn gradually expanded First Amendment protection for freedom of expression but also defined certain categories of expression_obscenity, defamation, commercial speech , and 'fighting words' or disruptive expression-as constitutionally unprotected. From the Alien and Sedition Act of 1798 to the most recent cases to come before the Supreme Court, noted legal scholar David M. O'Brien provides the first comprehensive examination of these exceptions to the absolute command of the First Amendment, providing a history of each category of unprotected speech and putting into bold relief the larger questions of what kinds of expression should (and should not) receive First Amendment protection. O'Brien provides readers interested in civil liberties, constitutional history and law, and the U. S. Supreme Court a treasure trove of information and ideas about how to think about the First Amendment.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781442205109
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date: 09/16/2010
Series: Free Expression in America
Pages: 150
Product dimensions: 5.80(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

David M. O'Brien, Leone Reaves and George W. Spicer Professor at the University of Virginia, is the author of numerous articles and books on the Supreme Court, including Storm Center: The Supreme Court in American Politics, which received the ABA's Silver Gavel Award

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Acknowledgements Chapter 2 Foreword Chapter 3 Chapter 1: When "No Law" Doesn't Mean "No Law" Chapter 4 Chapter 2: Obscenity, Pornography, and Indecent Expression Chapter 5 Chapter 3: Defamation and Related Harms Chapter 6 Chapter 4: Commercial Speech Chapter 7 Chapter 5: "Fighting Words," Provocative and Disruptive Expression Chapter 8 Chapter 6: Conclusion Chapter 9 Appendices Chapter 10 Unprotected Speech Timeline Chapter 11 Selected Bibliography Chapter 12 Index Chapter 13 About the Author
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