As rights under the First Amendment are not unlimited, we discussed the scope of the limitations.
Olivia 's study guide answers were very detailed and accurate in identifying that "free speech" does not sanction obscenity, defamation , or immediate calls for for violence. We spent some time analyzing defamation as a limit on the First Amendment. Even though the parties involved may not be government agencies or actors, as a defamed party can use the court system to redress defamation ,the use of the court system invokes the First Amendment as the court system is an arm of government,. I also explained that public figures have a higher burden of proof in defamation actions ,in part, to protect political free speech that may be critical of government policies. Last, we discussed permissible "time, place,and manner" restrictions on speech ,such as limiting a protest march to a certain area ,at a certain time. We analyzed the US Supreme Court case of Snyder v Phelps wherein the family of a gay deceased marine filed suit against protesters who interfered with the soldier's funeral procession by holding up anti-gay signs. Even though the content of the speech was repugnant , even a conservative Court upheld the right of the protesters in part because they had complied with the place and manner restrictions by protesting on public property, not at the cemetery, and by maintaining a specified distance from the funeral . Olivia recognized how the outcome of the case could have been different had the protesters not complied with the "time, place, and manner" restrictions and had protested on the cemetery property near or adjacent to the burial site. For homework ,I assigned reading the remaining portion of the chapter and answering 3 study guide questions.