Deck 2: The First Amendment

Question 1

Content-neutral regulations are also called

A)time,place,and manner regulations
B)majoritarian regulations
C)balancing regulations
D)purposive regulations
E)truth,equity,and fairness regulations

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The Supreme Court has said that,under the First Amendment,political speech is [Political Speech] Factual

A)not a part of the protected freedom of speech
B)at the core of the protected freedom of speech
C)not a distinct category of speech
D)always protected from any form of regulation

Answer 2

B

Question 3

In Near v.Minnesota,the Supreme Court ruled that

A)prior restraints pose a serious threat of censorship
B)laws that punish past actions by banning future publications are a form of prior restraint
C)prior restraint is justified when media criticize government officials
D)prior restraints may be legal when necessary to serve an extremely important government interest
E)A,B,and D

Answer 3

E

Question 4

In New York Times v.United States,the Supreme Court said that

A)government bears an extremely heavy burden of proof to justify prior restraints
B)prior restraints are constitutional when speech tends to harm important government interests
C)prior restraints are constitutional when speech poses a clear and present danger to a government interest of the highest order
D)both A and B
E)both A and C

Question 5

In First Amendment jurisprudence,original intent means the [Interpreting the First Amendment] Vocabulary

A)perceived purpose of the constitutional framers
B)goal of any individual speaker
C)outcome of a Supreme Court ruling on free speech
D)none of the above

Question 6

Prior review [Origins of the First Amendment] Conceptual/Vocabulary

A)is part of the final editing process of a newspaper
B)enables government to stop publications before they reach the public
C)is the examination of the facts during a jury trial
D)provides checks and balances to avoid errors in judicial decisions

Question 7

The First Amendment prohibits abridgements of the freedom of speech and the press by

A)Congress only
B)the federal executive branch only
C)the federal government only
D)federal,state,and local legislatures only
E)all levels and branches of government

Question 8

The Supreme Court generally interprets freedom of speech and freedom of the press [Interpreting the First Amendment] Conceptual

A)to provide greater protection for freedom of speech
B)by defining the press as a speaker
C)by combining the two terms into freedom of expression
D)by defining all forms and formats of media as full members of the free press

Question 9

Laws that indirectly limit the freedom of speech while achieving other substantial government objectives are called

A)content-based restrictions
B)content-neutral restrictions
C)time,place,and manner restrictions
D)both A and C
E)both B and C

Question 10

When the Supreme Court reviews the constitutionality of laws it applies [Court Scrutiny of Laws] Factual

A)rational review,minimum scrutiny,or the compelling interest test
B)rational review,intermediate review,or facial review
C)rational review,intermediate review,or strict scrutiny
D)the rule of law

Question 11

Instrumentalists argue that the First Amendment advances all of the following goals except

A)truth
B)checking government abuse
C)obscenity
D)self-governance
E)self-fulfillment

Question 12

Under strict scrutiny,a law is constitutional only if it

A)is reasonable and rational
B)is narrowly tailored to serve a compelling government interest
C)advances an important public interest and falls within the powers of government
D)none of the above
E)never passes strict scrutiny

Question 13

Courts find content-based restrictions of speech constitutional if they

A)pass intermediate scrutiny
B)are both rational and reasonable
C)are a form of symbolic speech
D)pass strict scrutiny
E)do not violate due process

Question 14

To guide its application of the First Amendment,the Supreme Court relies on [Interpreting the First Amendment] Conceptual

A)original intent,textual interpretation,ad hoc balancing,and categorical balancing
B)novel ideas introduced during oral argument
C)public opinion
D)original intent,ad hoc balancing,and scrutiny

Question 15

Prior restraints on speech are

A)the least-intrusive means to regulate speech
B)presumptively unconstitutional
C)rarely permitted remedies
D)both B and C
E)all of the above

Question 16

Laws of general application [Court Scrutiny of Laws] Conceptual/Vocabulary

A)do not apply to the media
B)apply to the media in the same way as other businesses
C)violate the First Amendment when applied to media because they directly infringe the freedoms of speech and of the press
D)none of the above

Question 17

To determine the constitutionality of government actions,the Supreme Court employs [Court Scrutiny of Laws] Conceptual

A)one test to treat all laws equally
B)different tests to allow the Court to reach its desired outcomes
C)one test for all laws that directly or indirectly affect the freedom of speech
D)different tests to respond to the different impacts of government actions on constitutionally protected rights and freedoms

Question 18

In reviewing the constitutionality of laws,the Supreme Court has established that an important government interest is [Court Scrutiny of Laws] Vocabulary

A)a significant but not compelling interest
B)an interest of the highest order
C)sufficient to justify content-based regulations of speech
D)necessary to impose laws of general application

Question 19

In several recent decisions,the U.S.Supreme Court has held that state or federal limits on campaign spending [Elections and Campaign Finance] Factual

A)directly advance the Constitution's express protection of free and fair elections
B)are essential to protect elections from corruption
C)advance the core purpose of the First Amendment
D)unconstitutionally restrict the freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment

Question 20

Although the First Amendment stands as a nearly complete ban on prior restraints,they may be constitutional to prevent

A)obscenity
B)incitements of violence
C)interference with ongoing military operations in times of war
D)incitements to overthrow the government
E)all of the above

Question 21

In the area of government speech,the U.S.Supreme Court has [Government Speakers] Factual

A)said the First Amendment clearly establishes absolute protection of the freedom of speech of individual government speakers
B)found the First Amendment does not deal expressly with government speech or speakers
C)held that the government has unlimited control over all the speech of its agencies and employees
D)established clear and consistent precedent to establish when regulation of government speech and speakers is constitutional

Question 22

Throughout history,the U.S.Supreme Court has relied heavily on natural rights theory to guide its First Amendment interpretations because this theory provides clear boundaries to personal liberties.

Question 23

The First Amendment stands as a nearly absolute ban to prior restraint.

Question 24

The U.S.Supreme Court consistently has interpreted the free press clause of the First Amendment to confer special privileges and responsibilities on the press.

Question 25

The U.S.Supreme Court has said that prior restraint is sometimes necessary to counterbalance the power of large media corporations to drown out alternate voices and different ideas.

Question 26

Textualists believe that interpretation of the Constitution should be guided entirely by its own language without reference to history or contemporary issues.

Question 27

Government regulations that target the content of speech because of government disfavor with the ideas expressed are called content-neutral.

Question 28

The legal protection of anonymous speakers online and offline is [Anonymous Speech] Factual

A)determined in the United States by balancing the rights of anonymous speakers against other important values
B)absolute and certain
C)consistent around the world
D)the most protected form of speech in the United States

Question 29

The First Amendment came first in the Bill of Rights because the Framers believed it was the most important and core right of the people.

Question 30

Through its self-delegated power to interpret and apply the U.S.Constitution,the U.S.Supreme Court determined that the First Amendment limits the power of state legislatures as well as Congress.

Question 31

Traditional public forums include [Public and Nonpublic Forums] Vocabulary

A)all online spaces (such as chat rooms)and all public properties
B)any government property that is not involved with national security
C)public property designed and historically used for public gathering and association
D)public property designed for other purposes but available for public use

Question 32

Functionalists,or instrumentalists,believe that the First Amendment protects the freedom of speech and of the press only because these freedoms advance important societal goals,such as democracy.

Question 33

The U.S.Supreme Court's speech distinctions establish [Overall Chapter Summary] Conceptual

A)unclear and confusing categories of speech with differing levels or protection under the First Amendment
B)clear and consistent categories of speech that relate to explicit language in the First Amendment
C)clear categories with clear reasoning for lower courts to follow
D)none of the above

Question 34

The social contract is part of the First Amendment that requires the people to act responsibly in exchange for their freedoms.

Question 35

Ad hoc balancing is used to determine the proper awards or penalties when judges make equity rulings.

Question 36

John Milton said that the open exchange of ideas in an unfettered marketplace will allow convincing falsehoods to overcome the truth.

Question 37

Justices who rely on original intent to determine the correct meaning and application of the First Amendment argue that the Framers understood and left a clear record of the meaning of the freedom of speech and of the press.

Question 38

The crime of sedition punishes truthful criticism of government.

Question 39

When government funds activities that involve expression,it

A)always creates a public forum
B)never creates a public forum
C)may not discriminate on the basis of the content of expression if it creates a public forum
D)may always discriminate on the basis of the content of expression

Question 40

A traditional public forum is closed to non-government users to protect the core purpose of the property.

Question 41

Content-neutral time,place,and manner restrictions must past strict scrutiny to be constitutional.
Conceptual Court Scrutiny of Laws

Question 42

Because content-based laws pose a greater risk to the freedom of speech and of the press than do content-neutral laws,the U.S.Supreme Court uses a more lenient test to determine when content-neutral laws are constitutional.

Question 43

After New York Times v.United States,is prior restraint of media ever possible in the United States? Explain briefly.

Question 44

Discuss the role of public forums with regard to free speech.Be sure to define the different categories of forums and explain why they exist.

Question 45

Originalists believe that interpretation of the Constitution should be guided by the actual text of the document.
Conceptual Introduction

Question 46

Private property that is used by the public is called a traditional public forum.
Vocabulary Public and Nonpublic Forums

Question 47

Content-based laws must pass intermediate scrutiny to be constitutional.

Question 48

A classical prior restraint imposes broad government power to review and select acceptable content before ideas are published.

Question 49

The First Amendment is a nearly complete ban to prior restraints.
Factual Contemporary Prior Restraints

Question 50

Both content-based and viewpoint-based regulations target speech because of government disfavor with the ideas expressed.
Vocabulary Court Scrutiny of Laws

Question 51

The First Amendment does not limit the power of state or local legislatures.
Conceptual First Amendment Values

Question 52

Explain briefly the decisions and reasoning of Supreme Court rulings that establish but limit the control of government over government employee speech.

Question 53

The government bears an exceptionally heavy burden of proof to justify any prior restraint because prior restraints are inherently likely to distort the marketplace of ideas and to punish ideas government disfavors.

Question 54

Court injunctions that stop publication are always unconstitutional prior restraints.

Question 55

The First Amendment protection for freedom of expression means prior restraints by government are constitutional only as a last resort to meet a compelling need.
Conceptual Contemporary Prior Restraints

Question 56

Truthful criticism of government was punished under sedition laws.
Factual Origins of the First Amendment

Question 57

Using principles and Supreme Court decisions you have learned in the first two chapters of the text,briefly explain why the governor of Missouri's emergency executive order banning night-time protests likely would be found constitutional even if it restricts the protesters rights of freedom of speech and assembly.
An excellent answer would discuss some or all of the following:

Question 58

In ad hoc balancing,courts employ strict rules of statutory interpretation.
Vocabulary Interpreting the First Amendment

Question 59

To be constitutional under strict scrutiny review,a law must reasonably advance an important government interest.
Conceptual Court Scrutiny of Laws

Question 60

What was the U.S.Supreme Court's decision in Near v.Minnesota (the Saturday Press case)?