Rights and Liberties (1st Amendment Cases)

Question 1

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (McCain-Feingold Campaign Act) [2002]

Answer 1

Legislation aimed at reforming campaign finance laws, including restrictions on soft money contributions

Question 2

Schenck v. United States (1919)

Answer 2

Upheld limitations on free speech during wartime, establishing the “clear and present danger” test.

Question 3

Chaplinsky v. State of New Hampshire (1942)

Answer 3

Defined “fighting words” as UNPROTECTED speech, allowing for their regulation and punishment.

Question 4

New York Times v. Sullivan (1964)

Answer 4

Set a high standard for proving libel (false) against public figures, protecting the press’s right to criticize public officials.

Question 5

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969)

Answer 5

Affirmed students’ right to symbolic speech in schools, unless it disrupts the educational environment.

Question 6

Texas v. Johnson (1989)

Answer 6

Declared that flag burning is a form of symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment.

Question 7

Citizens United v. FEC (2011)

Answer 7

Protected the Westboro Baptist Church’s right to engage in controversial protests at military funerals

Question 8

Engel v. Vitale (1962)

Answer 8

PROHIBITED state-sponsored prayer in public schools, establishing the separation of church and state.

Question 9

Employment Division v. Smith (1990)

Answer 9

Limited the scope (freedom) of religious exemptions from neutral and generally applicable laws.

Question 10

Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores (2013)

Answer 10

Recognized certain closely held corporations’ right to religious exemptions from the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate.

Question 11

Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2017)

Answer 11

Considered the balance between religious freedom and anti-discrimination laws, ruling in FAVOR of a baker who REFUSED to create a cake for a same-sex wedding.