First Amendment

John Schneider* I. Introduction When first writing the Bill of Rights, the Framers recognized the need for the protection of religious freedom. To accomplish this, there needed to be a separation of church and state. The Establishment Clause (“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion”) achieves this goal. Justice Hugo Black noted …

Shurtleff v. Boston: Balancing the Establishment Clause and Freedom of Speech Read More »

Emma Kim* I. Introduction When delivering the opinion in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969), Justice Abe Fortas said, “It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” Since the First Amendment was ratified in 1791, its …

A Taxonomy of Free Expression in Public Schools Read More »

Sophia Staniunas* Introduction The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of …

Hate Speech: Its Protection Under the First Amendment and Resisting It With Counterspeech Read More »