Speech Out of Doors: Preserving First Amendment Liberties in Public Places

Zick, Timothy

ISBN 10: 0521731968 / ISBN 13: 9780521731966

Published by Cambridge University Press, 2008

About this Item

This book is about the places of First Amendment expression. Num Pages: 362 pages, 11 b/w illus. BIC Classification: 1KBB; LNDC4. Category: (P) Professional & Vocational. Dimension: 228 x 153 x 17. Weight in Grams: 496. . 2008. Illustrated. paperback. . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland.

Seller Inventory # V9780521731966

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Speech Out of Doors: Preserving First Amendment Liberties in Public Places
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication Date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521731968
• ISBN 13: 9780521731966
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

Even in an age characterized by increasing virtual presence and communication, speakers still need physical places in which to exercise First Amendment liberties. This book examines the critical intersection of public speech and spatiality. Through a tour of various places on what the author calls the “expressive topography,” the book considers a variety of public speech activities including sidewalk counseling at abortion clinics, residential picketing, protesting near funerals, assembling and speaking on college campuses, and participating in public rallies and demonstrations at political conventions and other critical democratic events. This examination of public liberties, or speech out of doors, shows that place can be as important to one’s expressive experience as voice, sight, and auditory function. Speakers derive a host of benefits, such as proximity, immediacy, symbolic function, and solidarity, from message placement. Unfortunately, for several decades the ground beneath speakers’ feet has been steadily eroding. The causes of this erosion are varied and complex; they include privatization and other loss of public space, legal restrictions on public assembly and expression, methods of policing public speech activity, and general public apathy. To counter these forces and reverse at least some of their effects will require a focused and sustained effort – by public officials, courts, and of course, the people themselves.

About the Author

Timothy Zick is Professor of Law at St. John's University Law School. He has published articles in the Texas Law Review, Washington University (St. Louis) Law Review, William & Mary Law Review, Washington & Lee Law Review, North Carolina Law Review, and Florida Law Review.