Legal Research Guides by Course - Advanced Constitutional Law-First Amendment

Course Description

This seminar will allow students to examine a wide array of First Amendment issues, in an in-depth seminar. It will be geared towards students who have excelled at the basic course in Constitutional Law, or have extensive experience in the field. This seminar will cover issues dealing with free speech; obscenity and pornography; commercial speech; labor speech; unconventional speech (symbolic conduct); and issues dealing with the public forum and private property rights. It will also cover broadcast regulation and access to mass media, freedom of the press, and issues dealing with journalistic privileges. Finally, the seminar will explore topics dealing with freedom of religion, including separation of church and state regulations (financial aid to religion, official acknowledgment of religion, etc.) and free exercise of religion (conflicts with state regulations, preference among religions, etc.). Students will prepare a lengthy seminar paper, and will make an oral presentation in class. (2 credits) Co-requisite: Constitutional Law. Paper

Faculty Who Teach This Course

• Ken Gormley (Dean and Professor of Law)

Subject Covered Presently in Collection by

Print Collection

KF1266   Torts: Libel and Slander
KF1614   Regulation of Advertising
KF2750   Press Law
KF2801-KF2844   Radio &Television
KF4162   Religious Observations in School
KF4300   Motion Picture Censorship
KF4558   Particular Amendments
KF4770-KF4783   Freedom of Expression
KF4865   Church and State
KF9345   Criminal Law: Libel and Slander
KF9444    Criminal Law: Obscenity
PN4735- PN4738   Liberty of the Press

Legal Research Databases

• Bloomberg Law
• Bloomberg BNA Online - US Law Week
• FDSys
• Hein Online
• Indexmaster
• Legal Research Network
• LegalTrac
• LLMC - Digital
• ProQuest Congressional
• Religion Case Reporter
• Westlaw and Lexis
• CALI - Constitutional Law
• First Amendment (LII)
• First Amendment Law (hg.org)
• First Amendment Center (Vanderbilt U)
• First Amendment: Religion & Expression (FindLaw)
• Basic Information about First Amendment & Censorship (Walters Law Group)
• Separation of Church & State Primer (ADL)
• First Amendment to the Bill of Rights to the US Constitution (ALA)
• First Amendment (US Courts)
• Exploring First Amendment Law (UMKC)
• The Center for First Amendment Studies
• First Amendment Law Prof Blog 
• Freedom Forum

Freedom of Religion Issues

• Separation of Church & State Primer (ADL) - http://www.adl.org/issue_religious_freedom/separation_cs_primer.asp
• Freedom of Religion (Bill of Rights Institute) - http://billofrightsinstitute.org/resources/educator-resources/headlines/freedom-of-religion/
• Religion and Belief (ACLU) - http://www.aclu.org/religion-belief
• United States Commission on International Religious Freedom - http://www.uscirf.gov/
• Establishment of Religion (The Heritage Guide to The Constitution) - http://www.heritage.org/constitution/#!/amendments/1/essays/138/establishment-of-religion
• Free Exercise of Religion (The Heritage Guide to The Constitution) - http://www.heritage.org/constitution/#!/amendments/1/essays/139/free-exercise-of-religion

Freedom of Speech Issues

• Freedom of Speech (Bill of Rights Institute) - http://billofrightsinstitute.org/resources/educator-resources/headlines/freedom-of-speech/
• Free Speech (ACLU) - http://www.aclu.org/free-speech
• What Does Free Speech Mean (US Courts) - http://www.uscourts.gov/EducationalResources/ClassroomActivities/FirstAmendment/WhatDoesFreeSpeechMean.aspx
• Freedom of Expression (National Paralegal College) - http://nationalparalegal.edu/conlawcrimproc_public/FreedomOfExpression/FreedomOfExpression.asp
• Introduction of the Free Speech Clause (Exploring Constitutional Conflicts - UMKC) - http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/firstaminto.htm
• Freedom of Speech and of the Press (The Heritage Guide to The Constitution) - http://www.heritage.org/constitution/#!/amendments/1/essays/140/freedom-of-speech-and-of-the-press
• Commercial Speech (LII) - http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/commercial_speech
• Government Regulation of Commercial Speech (Exploring Constitutional Conflicts - UMKC) - http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/commercial.htm
• Supreme Court on Commercial Speech (Network Abuse Clearinghouse) - http://www.abuse.net/commercial.html
• What is Symbolic Speech (Street Law Inc.) - http://www.streetlaw.org/en/Page/236/What_Is_Symbolic_Speech_When_Is_It_Protected
• Flag Burning (Exploring Constitutional Conflicts - UMKC) - http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/flagburning.htm

Freedom of Assembly and Freedom of Petition Issues

• Freedom of Assembly and Freedom of Petition (Bill of Rights Institute) - http://billofrightsinstitute.org/resources/educator-resources/headlines/assembly-and-petition/
• Freedom of Assembly and Petition (The Heritage Guide to The Constitution) - http://www.heritage.org/constitution/#!/amendments/1/essays/141/freedom-of-assembly-and-petition
• Freedom of Press and Issues Dealing with Journalistic Privileges
  First Amendment Handbook (Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press) - http://www.rcfp.org/first-amendment-handbook
• Freedom of Press (Bill of Rights Institute) - http://billofrightsinstitute.org/resources/educator-resources/headlines/freedom-of-the-press/
• Journalistic Privilege: Overview of the Law and Legislation in Recent Congresses (Congressional Research Service, 2011) - http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/secrecy/RL34193.pdf
• The First Amendment and the Reporter's Privilege: What Constitutes News on the Internet (National Law Journal) - http://www.natlawreview.com/article/first-amendment-and-reporter-s-privilege-what-constitutes-news-internet

Public Forum and Private Property Rights Issues

• Restricting Speech in the Limited Public Forum (Exploring Constitutional Conflicts - UMKC) - http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/designatedforum.htm
• What is a Public Forum? (First Amendment Center) - http://www.firstamendmentschools.org/freedoms/faq.aspx?id=13012

Obscenity and Pornography

• Pornography, Obscenity and the Law (Lawyers.com) - http://civil-rights.lawyers.com/Pornography-Obscenity-and-the-Law.html
• Regulation of Obscenity, Indecency & Profanity (FCC) - http://transition.fcc.gov/eb/oip/
• Regulation of Obscenity (Exploring Constitutional Conflicts - UMKC) - http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/obscenity.htm

Gumberg Databases

• JStor - First Amendment - http://guides.library.duq.edu/content.php?mode=preview&pid=215147&sid=1790166
• Ebrary - First Amendment - http://site.ebrary.com/lib/duquesne/search.action?p00=first+amendment&fromSearch=fromSearch
• CQ Researcher Plus - First Amendment - http://library.cqpress.com.authenticate.library.duq.edu/cqresearcher/search.php?fulltext=first+amendment&action=newsearch&sort=custom%3Asorthitsrank%2Cd

DCLI Webpage Links

• Primary Legal Research: Case Law, Statutory Law, Administrative Law, Constitutions (contains quick links to our statutes, our administrative codes, federal and state case law and our constitutions)
• Legal Research Guides: Constitutional Law
• Quick Guides: U.S. Constitutional Law, Pa Constitutional Law

Course Listed Under the following Law School Concentrations

• Government and Public Interest Law

Course Satisfies: Upper Level Writing Requirement

created by Patricia Horvath 9/7/2012
rev. 1/30/2013