While Justice Felix Frankfurter championed civil rights, he frequently voted to limit civil liberties and was not one of the great defenders of the First Amendment.| The Free Speech Center
William O. Douglas was one of the Supreme Court’s most controversial members as well as one of its most passionate defenders of individual freedoms and First Amendment rights.| The Free Speech Center
The origin of "wall of separation" came from Thomas Jefferson who used the phrase to reflect his understanding of the First Amendment's religion clauses.| The Free Speech Center
Employment Division, Department of Human Resources of Oregon v. Smith (1990) greatly changed First Amendment religious free exercise law, abandoning the compelling interest test.| The Free Speech Center
Sherbert v. Verner (1963) said that denying unemployment benefits to an applicant who refused to work on Saturday, her Sabbath, violated First Amendment rights.| The Free Speech Center
Robert Jackson, a Supreme Court justice from 1941 to 1954, believed strongly in separation of church and state and free speech protections First Amendment.| The Free Speech Center
The establishment clause prohibits government from establishing a religion. It is sometimes referred to as separation of church and state.| The Free Speech Center
Supreme Court Justice Hugo Lafayette Black is considered to be one of the most influential justices of his time. On First Amendment issues, Black was considered an absolutist.| The Free Speech Center