Freedom of speech

Question 1

public forums

Answer 1

government property that the government is constitutionally required to make available for speech; regulations must be content-neutral

Question 2

test for public forum restrictions

Answer 2

to be upheld, restriction must:
1) be content-neutral
2) be narrowly tailored to serve an important gov’t purpose
3) leave open, adequate, alternative channels of communication

Question 3

limited public forums

Answer 3

gov’t properties opened only for specific speech activity (e.g. school gym used for a debate on a community issue)

Question 4

limited public forum test

Answer 4

can reserve space for intended use; must be viewpoint neutral and reasonably related to legitimate gov’t purpose

Question 5

non-public forum test

Answer 5

gov’t can regulate speech if regulation is
1) reasonably related to some legitimate purpose
2) viewpoint neutral (content neutrality not required)

Question 6

prior restraints

Answer 6

involve a court order or other ban on speech/publication before it occurs

Question 7

prior restraint requirements for validity

Answer 7

1) significant government interest
2) procedural safeguards for those whose speech is restrained

Question 8

vagueness

Answer 8

a law is vague if a reasonable person cannot tell whether speech is prohibited or permitted

Question 9

overbreadth

Answer 9

a law is overbroad if it regulates substantially more speech than the Constitution allos to be regulated

Question 10

symbolic speech test

Answer 10

gov’t can regulate if:
1) regulation furthers an important gov’t interest
2) gov’t interest is unrelated to suppression of the message
3) impact on speech is no greater than necessary to further the interest

Question 11

incitement of imminent unlawful activity test

Answer 11

speech may be punished if:
1) substantial likelihood speech will bring imminent illegal activity and
2) speech is aimed at causing imminent illegality

Question 12

fighting words test

Answer 12

speech may be punished if it is likely to cause an immediate violent response against the speaker

Question 13

obscenity test

Answer 13

1) appeals to prurient interests
2) is patently offensive in its sexual portrayal
3) taken as a whole, material lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value

Question 14

unprotected commercial speech

Answer 14

1) false, misleading, or deceptive or
2) illegal or concerns illegal activity

Question 15

protected commercial speech

Answer 15

speech that concerns lawful activity and is not misleading

Question 16

protected commercial speech test

Answer 16

gov’t can only regulate protected commercial speech if:
1) substantial gov’t interest in regulating the speech
2) regulation directly advances that interest
3) regulation is not more extensive than necessary to serve that interest

Question 17

defamation

Answer 17

1A considerations arise when defamation involves a public official and/or a matter of public concern