Also known as: freedoms of expression · free expression
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A constitutional protection against governmental interference with speech, press, assembly, or religion. The guarantee bars content-based restrictions and subjects regulations of expressive conduct to intermediate scrutiny when the law advances an important interest unrelated to suppressing ideas and burdens expression no more than essential.
Frederick Ferguson burned his draft card on the courthouse steps to protest the war. Police arrested him under a federal statute that banned destruction of the cards. The court upheld the conviction because the statute served the substantial interest of preserving the selective service system and the restriction on expression was no greater than essential.
Farah Fox published an editorial accusing a public official of misconduct. The official sued for libel under state law that required no showing of actual malice. The court dismissed the claim because the First Amendment protects criticism of public officials absent proof of knowing or reckless falsehood.
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Floyd Franklin obtained classified documents detailing military operations and prepared to publish them in his newspaper. The government sought an injunction claiming national security risks. The court refused the injunction because prior restraints on publication face a heavy presumption of invalidity.
Faye Fuller wanted to donate a large sum directly to a candidate's campaign. A federal statute limited individual contributions to prevent corruption. The court upheld the limit because the government has an important interest in avoiding the appearance of corruption and the cap left room for independent expenditures.
Fiona Foster operated a newspaper that sought to attend and report on a high-profile criminal trial. The trial judge closed the proceedings to the public and press. The court reversed the closure because the First Amendment protects public access to criminal trials absent overriding interests.
Felicity French lived with her grandchildren in a single-family home under a zoning rule that limited occupancy to nuclear families. City officials cited her for violating the ordinance. The court struck down the rule because it burdened the fundamental right to live with extended family members.
The law is valid if it is within the government's constitutional power, furthers an important or substantial interest unrelated to suppressing expression, and restricts speech no more than essential to that interest.
Prior restraints are presumptively invalid. The government must prove a special, grave societal harm of the highest order, such as disclosure of troop movements in wartime, to justify stopping publication in advance.
Speech made by a public employee pursuant to official job duties receives no First Amendment protection from employer discipline, even when the content concerns a matter of public concern.
…(1967); Dombrowski v. Pfister , 380 U. S. 479 (1965). We are not dealing with a statute that, on its face, appears to abridge free expression, an area of particular concern under Dombrowski and refined in Younger v. Harris , 401 U. S., at 50. We find it unnecessary to decide whether the District Court erred in withholding…