Teacher Guide: Prior Restraints—The Most Egregious Violation of First Amendment Rights

The most fundamental violation of freedom of the press is considered to be a prior restraint—an order issued by a court that prohibits the publication or broadcast of material that in some way is deemed especially harmful. Prior restraints have come up in many different contexts, including permits for demonstrations and ratings for movies. In this guide, however, we focus on two of the most important areas—where publication of information may endanger national security and where it may harm a defendant’s right to a fair trial under the Sixth Amendment. 

Handman and Zycherman: “Fear Not: New York Times v. Sullivan Heartily Embraced by the Court’s Newest Jurist, Justice Kavanaugh”

The post is another essay in response to Justice Clarence Thomas’s concurrence from a denial of certiorari in the case of  McKee v. Cosby (2019). The previous post was by Lee Levine […]

Levine and Wermiel: “Dubious Doubts and ‘the Central Meaning of the First Amendment’—A Preliminary Reply to Justice Thomas”

By Lee Levine and Stephen Wermiel There are any number of obvious responses to Justice Clarence Thomas’s misguided assertion in McKee v. Cosby (2019) that New York Times v. Sullivan […]