Every indexed document

the uttering of the prohibited words on a Pacifica radio station that broadcast Carlin’s routine led to a Supreme Court decision setting out standards for what could and could not be said during certain hours of the day and night.

the comedian George Carlin listed the seven words that could never be uttered on radio or television. The list included such innocent words as “piss” and “tits.” (Use your imagination for the other 5!)

show or publish often carries a heavy price tag. As kids

I concluded with the following plea: “Let us hear no more nonsensical analogies to shouting fire in a crowded

those advocating censorship have cited a state supreme court that held that “Holmes’ aphorism . . . applies with equal force to pornography.” Another court analogized “picketing . . . in support of a secondary boycott” to shouting “Fire!” b...

offering the patrons a leaflet advising them that in his opinion the theater was a fire hazard

“the First Amendment recognizes no such thing as a ‘false’ idea.” Nor does it recognize false opinions about the causes of war.

finding that the pamphlet created “a clear and present danger” of hindering the war effort while our soldiers were fighting for their lives and our liberty.

“The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theater

in saying all that was said in the circular

who was the general secretary of the Socialist Party in Philadelphia. In 1917 a jury found Schenck guilty of attempting to cause insubordination among soldiers who had been drafted to fight in the First World War. He had circulated leaflets...

I will recount my experiences—both professional and personal—with each of those purported exceptions to the First Amendment. I will describe how the First Amendment has changed over the half century I have been litigating freedom of express...

as with obscenity which may offend and also cause violence against women

and other information that the government or individuals may have a right to keep from the public. It may also include disclosure of personal information that may embarrass individuals.

it is clear that not all verbal and other form of expression are protected by the First Amendment. There is widespread disagreement over what are appropriate exceptions

preferring instead to argue for a “living

” but they argue that the words of the First Amendment should not be read literally. Some argue that they must be understood in the context of the times when they were written

obscenity—including dirty words used in the context of a political protest—is not speech. (Perhaps it’s “duck.”) The same is true for other categories of expression that do not—in the view of at least some absolutists—warrant the protection...

which was seen by its framers largely as a bill of restrictions on the power of the national legislature—namely “Congress.” There was considerable concern that the Constitution

the two justices were giving radically different meanings to the very same language of the First Amendment.