Also known as: freedom of speech · freedom of the press · free speech · First Amendment speech
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A constitutional guarantee that bars Congress from enacting laws abridging speech or press freedoms. The protection covers expressive conduct and limits both prior restraints and certain civil liabilities arising from publication.
Freya Freeman planned to burn subscription contracts on a live broadcast to protest her layoff from Plains Content. OSHA issued an order barring open flames inside studios for safety reasons. Freeman sued, claiming the order blocked protected symbolic expression. The court upheld the order because it addressed equipment risks without targeting the message.
Francisco Frost at Frostline Textiles received a tip about falsified safety data and published it anonymously. A grand jury investigating the data subpoenaed Frost for the source identity. Frost refused, citing press freedom. The court ordered compliance because no constitutional privilege shields reporters from good-faith grand jury demands.
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Fatou Fall wrote on an investment forum that Frederick Ferguson manipulated client accounts at Dawn Investments. Ferguson sued for defamation. Fall had relied only on public filings without verification. The court applied actual malice standards because Ferguson held a public role and the statements concerned official conduct.
Francesca Fiore performed a human cannonball act at a county fair. Foxfire Biotech filmed the entire routine and aired it on local news without consent. Fiore sued for misappropriation of her performance. The court held that the broadcast right did not shield the station from liability for the full commercial appropriation.
Fatima Flores distributed contraceptive information at a public university event. State law prohibited such distribution by anyone other than physicians. Flores was arrested and challenged the statute. The court struck down the restriction on privacy and equal-protection grounds.
Fusion Power executives wanted to spend unlimited sums supporting a candidate through independent ads. Federal law capped contributions and coordinated expenditures. The company challenged the caps as speech restrictions. The court sustained the limits because they prevented corruption without banning independent expression.
No constitutional privilege exists for journalists to withhold sources from good-faith grand jury investigations. Requiring testimony does not impermissibly burden press freedom under controlling precedent.
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A private plaintiff must prove actual malice only when the speech involves a matter of public concern and the defendant is media. Otherwise negligence suffices for compensatory damages under Gertz standards.
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No. Government may not force a newspaper to publish specific content or dictate editorial judgments about space and message.
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No. Receipt of state funds and regulation do not convert private employment decisions into state action under the First Amendment.
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…in the Constitution. This liberty' is not a series of isolated points pricked out in terms of the taking of property; the freedom of speech, press, and religion; the right to keep and bear arms; the freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures; and so on. It is a rational continuum which, broadly speaking, includes a freedom…