Deck 3: Political Speech

Question 1

Concerning the rights of an individual to distribute literature or engage in other forms of political speech, "traditional public forums" are those such as airport terminals and fairgrounds, while "limited public forums" are those such as a public park or the National Mall in Washington, D. C.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Based on Supreme Court rulings, print media such as newspapers and magazines are subject to more regulation than broadcast media such as television and radio.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

In the majority of cases involving the military's authority to control or limit the newsgathering process during military operations, the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the media and determined that such limitations are an unconstitutional form of prior restraint.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

When reviewing federal and state laws and city and county ordinances involving limitations on speech or expression, the U.S. Supreme Court generally upholds those that serve a legitimate purpose and are narrowly drawn and specific, but strikes down those that are too vague or overbroad.

Question 5

Court rulings have determined the current and former government employees have the absolute First Amendment right to write and publish books based on their experiences, and those writings cannot be limited or censored by the government

Question 6

Based on Supreme Court rulings such as Buckley v. Valeo, First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti, and Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission, spending money on a political campaign is analogous to speech and is therefore protected by the First Amendment.

Question 7

Based on court rulings, whenever there is doubt as to whether or not an individual or group's speech should be limited or prohibited, the burden of proof falls on the government agency or official wanting to limit the speech, as opposed to the individual or group whose speech rights are at risk. The legal term for this concept is

A) totalitarianism
B) utilitarianism
C) absolutism
D) stare decisis
E) strict scrutiny

Question 8

Based on court rulings, there is no such thing as a complete and total freedom of speech; in many cases speech can be limited based on the time, place, and manner of the speech in question. The legal term for this concept is

A) content neutrality
B) utilitarianism
C) absolutism
D) stare decisis
E) strict scrutiny

Question 9

The Blackstonian Doctrine is a legal philosophy, adopted from English law, which suggests which of the following?

A) every newspaper in the country is required to have at least one reporter named "Blackstone"
B) there should be complete and total freedom of speech, with no consequences for harm
C) the burden of proof in free speech cases falls on the censor, not the speaker
D) there should be complete and total freedom of speech, but speakers can be punished for harm caused by their speech
E) the concept of freedom of speech is too abstract; the government is always more qualified to decide free-speech issues than the media or general public

Question 10

A state's "equivalent function rule" means that

A) the state supreme court performs a function equivalent to that of the U.S. Supreme Court, and therefore cases involving state crimes cannot be appealed beyond the state supreme court
B) shopping centers and sports stadiums, while they may be owned by private companies, are gathering places for large numbers of people and are therefore equivalent to public places in terms of free speech protections
C) high school teachers are the equivalent of college professors and therefore have the same free speech rights

Question 11

In Lloyd Corporation v. Tanner, which dealt with the rights of individuals and groups to peacefully distribute literature at privately owned shopping centers, the Supreme Court made which of the following rulings?

A) the owners of shopping centers CANNOT restrict the peaceful distribution of literature and other forms of political speech
B) the owners CAN restrict the distribution of political speech but not commercial
C) the owners of shopping centers can restrict the distribution of literature and other forms of political speech, but must be fair and treat all groups equally

Question 12

If you went to the second floor of your university library and began to shout criticisms of the university loud enough to be heard on the first floor, university officials could legally allow you to leave under which of the following common-law principles?

A) the library is a "limited public forum" rather than a "traditional public forum"
B) the officials' actions are a reasonable time, place, and manner restriction
C) your speech is obtrusive rather than nonobtrustive
D) all of the above
E) university officials have unlimited power to restrict speech everyone on campus

Question 13

In the case of Houston v. Hill, the individual at the center of the case won his appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court based on which of the following?

A) he was not a United States citizen and was not subject to U.S. law
B) the flag he burned was his own rather than government property
C) his speech was political rather than commercial and was therefore protected
D) his speech was commercial rather than political and was therefore protected
E) the law under which he was prosecuted was vague and overbroad

Question 14

In Yates v. United States and Brandenburg v. Ohio, the government's right to limit speech was overruled by the U.S. Supreme Court because it FAILED to establish which of the following conditions?

A) the Fourth Amendment ban on illegal search and seizure
B) the Sixth Amendment clause regarding public trials
C) the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment
D) the "clear and present danger" test
E) the "bad tendency" test

Question 15

In United States v. Marchetti and Snepp v. United States, both cases of CIA agents challenging pre-publication agreements they had signed, the U.S. Supreme Court made which of the following rulings?

A) "pre-publication agreements" were an unconstitutional form of prior restraint
B) "pre-publication agreements" were a constitutional form of prior restraint
C) both cases were thrown out because the Supreme Court has no authority over book publishing
D) both cases were thrown out the government failed to meet the "clear and present danger" test
E) in both cases, the government was unable to prove that the "bad tendency test" applied

Question 16

In Near v. Minnesota and New York Times v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court made which of the following determinations, which is still the prevailing common law today?

A) injunctions are an unconstitutional form of prior restraint
B) injunctions are a constitutional form of prior restraint
C) both cases were thrown out because the Supreme Court had no jurisdiction over the issues involved
D) in both cases, the speech could be limited because the country was at war at the time