Sylabus
Syllabus: Week 1: Course introduction · Interpreting the First Amendment · Is religion special? · Considering psychology studies Week 2: Establishment clause - religious symbols in public places · Lynch v. Donnelly (nativity scene) · Allegheny v. ACLU (nativity scene) · Analysing the endorsement test Week 3: Religious symbols in public places (cont’d.) · Van Orden v. Perry (ten commandments) · Town of Greece v. Galloway (prayer at town meetings) · Ceremonial deism Week 4: ungraded moot court exercise (inauguration prayer) Week 5: Freedom to publish · New York Times v. United States (Pentagon Papers) · Nebraska Press v. Stuart (media coverage of trials) Week 6: Right to be forgotten (right to erasure) – EU perspective · German case concerning murderer’s right to be forgotten · Dutch surgeon case · Comparison to U.S. Supreme Court (Florida Star v. B.J.F.) Week 7: Right to gather news · Branzburg v. Hayes (anonymous sources) · Comparison to ECtHR Week 8: graded moot court activity Week 9: Indecent expression · FCC v. Pacifica Foundation (broadcasting vulgar speech) · Erzoznik v. Jacksonville (publicly visible screen nudity) Week 10: regulation of social media and related issues Course Goals: The objectives of this course are:
1) to deepen students’ understanding of U.S. interpretation of freedom of expression;
2) to provide students the context to compare and assess various approaches to such issues;
3) to provide the framework for students to determine the appropriate boundaries of individual freedoms; and
4) to aid students in acquiring and using sophisticated legal English vocabulary and grammar. Means of communication: This course is taught in person. (In case distance learning is required due to government closure of universities, then Zoom will be used.)
Anotace
This course focuses on judicial decisions in various cases involving the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protects freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion. Students will be required to analyse U.S. Supreme Court decisions and form legal arguments in both class discussions and formal moot court debate exercises. This course concerns the following issues relating to the First Amendment: presence of religious symbols in public places; freedom of the press (including both news gathering and leaking); obscene and indecent expression; religious and political expression in the workplace. The objectives of this course are:
1) to deepen students’ understanding of U.S. interpretation of freedom of expression;
2) to provide students the context to compare and assess various approaches to such issues;
3) to provide the framework for students to determine the appropriate boundaries of individual freedoms; and
4) to aid students in acquiring and using sophisticated legal English vocabulary and grammar. This course is designed as a follow-up to the winter semester course titled "Legal Reasoning: First Amendment Case Law", yet naturally this course covers different topics and entirely new cases and principles that are not covered in the winter semester course. The instructor prepares the materials for the course from the selected bibliography below, along with other supplementary materials from the U.S. Supreme Court’s database. Irons, Peter (Editor,
1997). May it Please the Court: The First Amendment. The New Press. Stone, Geoffrey (et al.) (2008). The First Amendment. Aspen Publishers. Sullivan, Kathleen M. and Gunther, Gerald (2010). The First Amendment Law, 4th edition. Foundation Press.