Fear and the First Amendment : Controversial Cases of the Roberts Court

Kevin A Johnson

ISBN 10: 0817361456 / ISBN 13: 9780817361457

Published by University Of Alabama Press Jun 2024, 2024

About this Item

Neuware - A highly original account of the role that fear plays in key First Amendment cases ruled on by the Roberts Supreme Court In Fear and the First Amendment, Kevin A. Johnson and Craig R. Smith offer a deeply considered examination of the ways fear figures in First Amendment questions ruled on by the contemporary Supreme Court. Bringing together literature on theories of fear in rhetorical and philosophical traditions, Johnson and Smith focus on the rulings from the Roberts Court, which form a pivotal era of dramatic precedents. Each chapter in this book analyzes one or more First Amendment cases and a variety of related fears--whether evidentiary or not--that pertain to a given case. These cases include Morse v. Frederick, which takes up the competing fears of school administrators loss of authority and students loss of free speech rights. The authors touch on corporate funding of elections in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission, from the fear of corporate influence on electoral politics to corporate fears of alienating their consumers by backing political candidates. They explore religious freedom and fears of homosexuality in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez. Similarly, in Snyder v. Phelps, the authors delve further into fears of God, death, emotional distress, failing as a parent, and losing one s reputation. Next, they investigate parents anxieties about violence in video games in Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association. Finally, Johnson and Smith examine the role of fear in indecent, obscene, and graphic communication in three cases: FCC v. Fox Television Stations, Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union, and United States v. Stevens. Together these cases reveal fear to be an endemic factor in the rhetoric of First Amendment cases. This fascinating and original work will appeal to current legal practitioners and students of law, rhetoric, philosophy, and the First Amendment.

Seller Inventory # 9780817361457

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Fear and the First Amendment : Controversial Cases of the Roberts Court
• Publisher: University Of Alabama Press Jun 2024
• Publication Date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0817361456
• ISBN 13: 9780817361457
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 228W x 152H x 18D millimeters 228 millimeters width by 152 millimeters height by 18 millimeters depth
• Weight: 408 grams

About this title

Synopsis

DISTINGUISHED PUBLICATION AWARD FOR THE NATIONAL COMMUNICATION ASSOCIATION'S COMMUNICATION AND LAW DIVISION

The First Amendment: protected by law, threatened by fear in the Roberts Supreme Court.

In Fear and the First Amendment: Controversial Cases of the Roberts Court, Kevin A. Johnson and Craig R. Smith offer a deeply considered examination of the ways fear figures in First Amendment questions. Bringing together literature on theories of fear in rhetorical and philosophical traditions, Johnson and Smith focus on the rulings from the Roberts Court, which form a pivotal era of dramatic precedents. Each chapter analyzes one or more First Amendment cases and a variety of related fears―whether evidentiary or not―that pertain to a given case.

These cases include Morse v. Frederick, which takes up the competing fears of school administrators’ loss of authority and students’ loss of free speech rights. The authors touch on corporate funding of elections in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission, from the fear of corporate influence on electoral politics to corporate fears of alienating their consumers by backing political candidates. They explore religious freedom and fears of homosexuality in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez. Similarly, in Snyder v. Phelps, the authors delve further into fears of God, death, emotional distress, failing as a parent, and losing one’s reputation. Next, they investigate parents’ anxieties about violence in video games in Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association. Finally, Johnson and Smith examine the role of fear in indecent, obscene, and graphic communication in three cases: FCC v. Fox Television Stations, Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union, and United States v. Stevens.

Together these cases reveal fear to be an endemic factor in the rhetoric of First Amendment cases. This fascinating and original work will appeal to current legal practitioners and students of law, rhetoric, philosophy, and the First Amendment.
 

About the Author

Kevin A. Johnson is professor of communication studies at California State University, Long Beach, and director of the Center for First Amendment Studies. He has published over thirty scholarly articles and served as editor of the National Communication Association’s First Amendment Studies and Communication and Democracy journals.

Craig R. Smith is emeritus professor of communication studies at California State University, Long Beach. He has published over twenty books and sixty-five scholarly articles.