Case | Rule of Law |
Schenck v. United States (1919) | Under the First Amendment, the government may not restrict speech unless it posses a clear and present danger to society.
- reasonable time, place and manner restrictions |
Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969) | Under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, a state may not regulate speech unless it constitutes incitement to immediate lawless action. |
United States v. O'Brien (1968) | Under the First Amendment, the government may regulate expressive conduct if it has compelling governmental interest that is unrelated to freedom of speech.
- intermediate scrutiny |
Texas v. Johnson (1989) | Under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, the government may not regulate expression unless there is compelling governmental interest in doing so.
- "symbolic speech" |
United States v. Stevens (2010) | Under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, depictions of animal cruelty may not, as a class, be prohibited. |
Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association (2011) | Under the First Amendment, new categories of unprotected speech may not be prohibited. |
Near v. Minnesota (1931) | Under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, a state may not impose "prior restraint" against publications, except in very narrow circumstances. |
New York Times Co. v. United States (1971) | Under the First Amendments, the government, under the high burden of proof, may not impose a prior restraint of publication unless there is an immediate threat to national security. |
United States v. The Progressive (1979) | Under the First Amendment, the government may impose a prior restraint on a publication if it poses direct, immediate, and irreparable harm to national security/interest. |
Smith v. The Daily Mail (1979) | Under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, a state may not punish the media for information lawfully obtained unless there is compelling governmental interest. |
Miami Herald v. Tornillo (1974) | Under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, a state may not require a newspaper to publish that of which it doesn't want to publish. |
Saxbe v. Washington Post (1976) | Under the First Amendment, the press has no greater right of access to public facilities than the public in general. |
Bartnicki v. Vopper (2001) | Under the First Amendment, the government may not hold media liable for disclosing information from a source that intercepted it unlawfully. |
Schenck v. United States (1919) | Under the First Amendment, the government may not restrict speech unless it posses a clear and present danger to society.
- reasonable time, place and manner restrictions |
The New York Times v. Sullivan (1964) | Under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, a public official cannot collect damages for a defamatory falsehood relating to his official conduct unless he proves the statement was made with actual malice. |
Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts (1967) | Under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, a public figure cannot collect damages for defamatory falsehood relating to his public conduct unless he proves that the statement was made with actual malice. |
Gertz v. Welch (1974) | 1st and 14th A: in cases involving private plaintiffs involved in matters of public interest, a state may establish a standard of fault that it so chooses as long as it does not impose liability without a showing of fault amounting to at least negligence. |
Philadelphia Newspapers v. Hepps (1986) | Under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, in cases involving a matter of public interest the plaintiff had the burden of proving falsity. |
Cox Broadcasting Corp. v. Cohn (1975) | Under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, a state may not impose liability against media for publishing truthful information obtained form the public record. |
The Florida Star v. B.J.F. (1989) | Under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, state may not publish the media for publishing truthful information lawfully obtained unless it's to serve a compelling governmental interest of the highest order. |
Time v. Hill (1967) | Under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, a plaintiff involved in a matter of public interest must prove actual malice to collect damages in matters of false light and invasion of privacy. |
Olivia N. v. National Broadcasting (1981) | Under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, the media cannot be held liable unless they can prove incitement. |
Rice v. Paladin Enterprises (1997) | Under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, a state may impose liability against the media for speech that aids or abets crimes. |
Hustler Magazine v. Falwell (1988) | Under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, public figures and officials may not recover damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress by publication unless they prove a false statement was made with actual malice. |
Snyder v. Phelps (2011) | Under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, a state may not impose liability for intentional infliction of emotional distress where the speech is of public interest and conducted in a public forum. |