The compelled speech doctrine sets out that the First Amendment prevents the government from punishing a person for refusing to articulate or adhere to its messages.| 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
In Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971), the Supreme Court said that providing funds to church-run schools was unconstitutional because it resulted in excessive entanglement with religion.| The Free Speech Center
Ronald Reagan, the nation's 40th president, supported a free and independent press, but thought the Supreme Court got it wrong on school prayer.| The Free Speech Center
Marsh v. Chambers (1983) found that the practice of hiring a chaplain to open the legislative day with prayer did not violate the establishment clause of the First Amendment.| The Free Speech Center
The Supreme Court used the three-pronged Lemon test for nearly four decades to evaluate whether a law or governmental activity violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment. The test was largely abandoned by 2022.| The Free Speech Center
Obscenity refers to a narrow category of pornography that violates contemporary community standards is not protected by the First Amendment.| The Free Speech Center
Supreme Court Associate and Chief Justice William Rehnquist was not known as a defender of First Amendment rights, but he protective of some aspects of the amendment.| The Free Speech Center
Lynch v. Donnelly (1984) upheld the inclusion of a manger scene in a Christmas display on government property against a First Amendment establishment clause challenge.| The Free Speech Center
In Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser (1986), an important First Amendment precedent, the Supreme Court said public school officials can prohibit offensive student speech.| The Free Speech Center
Supreme Court Justice William Brennan Jr. was an outspoken defender of the First Amendment freedoms of speech and the press against threats of government restriction.| The Free Speech Center