View Case and Brief Assignments for each topic.
Jan 17: What does “freedom of expression” mean?
- Comm Law Syllabus, Assignments, Expectations
- Read Comm Law website/Syllabus
- (Re)memorize First Amendment
Jan. 19: Where does law come from?
- Courts and the Legal System, Legal Research Tips
- Read Major Principles of Media Law, chapter 1 (MPML 1)
- Read A Brief Overview of the Supreme Court
- Visit Lexis/Nexis Academic Search Page through the ACU Brown Library
- Optional: Court Role and Structure and Comparing Federal & State Courts
Jan 24: Where did the First Amendment come from?
- History of Freedom and the Marketplace of Ideas, Theories of First Amendment Interpretation
- Read MPML 2, pp. 33-45
- Read How to Read a Legal Opinion, The Green Bag, by Orin Kerr
- Optional: A First Amendment Timeline (1215-1900) by The First Amendment Center
Jan 26: How does the court do its business? *
- First Amendment Theory; Theory and Scripture
- Listen to Brown v. EMA oral arguments at Oyez.com
Sunday, Jan. 29 (midnight): Research Paper topic due
Jan 31: When can you advocate illegal action? Can you call for violent overthrow of the country?
- Read MPML 2, pp. 45-62
- Read Holmes’ Idea Marketplace – Its Origins and Legacy
- Case recitations begin (Goldston, C. Thompson, Wischmeyer)
- Potential classroom guest Dr. Phil Schubert, president of the university
Feb. 2: EXAM 1: Research, Theory, (MPML 1-2; assigned readings/audio)
Feb 7: When can they say “You can’t say that!”?
- Prior Restraint
- Read MPML 3, pp. 63-79
- Optional: A First Amendment Timeline (1900-present)
Feb. 9: When is action not just action?
- Prior Restraint and Expressive Conduct
- Read MPML 3, pp. 79-105
- Watch Flagburning video from Nightline (1989) on Flagburning: A First Amendment Case study
- Optional: Prior Restraint
Feb. 14: Where can I take my freedom of speech?
- Read MPML 3, pp. 106-125
- Read: Assembly on Private Property, Fighting Words, News Racks and Newspaper Street Sales
- Optional: Abortion Protests and Buffer Zones (Note: This law has been affected by the decision in McCullen v. Coakley, ___ U.S. ___ (2014).
Feb. 16: What can the kids say – and where?
- Prior Restraint/Student Speech
- Read MPML 14
- Optional: How Free is Student Speech?
Feb. 21: What can you do when someone harms your reputation?
- Libel (Elements)
- Read MPML 4, pp. 126-149
- Read Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, §73.
- Optional: Libel and Defamation
- Optional: Parts II-III of Defamed by a Blogger: Legal Protections, Self-Regulation and Other Failures, 2006 U. Ill. J.L. Tech. & Pol’y 343.
- Optional: Part II of Public Figure Libel: The Premium on Ignorance and the Race to the Bottom, 4 S. Cal. Interdis. L.J. 253.
Feb. 23: What are the exceptions to libel law?
- Libel (Defenses, etc.)
- Read MPML 4, pp. 150-164
- Read Anti-SLAPP Law in Texas by the Citizen Media Law Project
- Read Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code §27.
- Optional: Publishing Information that Harms Another’s Reputation by the Citizen Media Law Project
Sunday, Feb. 26 (midnight): Research Prospectus due
Feb. 28: Can you punish someone just for hurting your feelings?
- Libel, Emotional Distress
- Read MPML 4, pp. 165-188
- Read Libel Case Study: Turner v. Dolcefino
March 1: What does privacy law protect? *
- Privacy
- Read MPML 5, pp 189-230
March 7: What must you prove to win a privacy case?
- Read MPML 5, pp. 231-244
- Read Three Milestones in the History of Privacy in the United States, 26 Tul. Eur. & Civ. L.F. 67 (2011).
March 9: EXAM 2: Prior Restraint, Libel, Privacy (MPML 16, 4-5, etc.)
SPRING BREAK
March 21: What the heck is copyright (and trademark)?
- Intellectual Property
- Read MPML 6, pp. 245-276
March 23: How does fair use excuse copyright?
- Intellectual Property
- Read MPML 6, pp. 276-304
- Watch A Fair(y) Use Tale
- [youtube CJn_jC4FNDo]
March 28: What is “confusion in the marketplace”?
- Intellectual Property
- Read MPML 6, pp. 304-324
March 30: No Class
- Instead, listen to oral arguments in Lee v. Tam (2017).
April 4: Is speech still free if you charge (or pay) for it?
- Commercial Speech
- Read MPML 13, pp. 571-600
- Read Abilene Code of Ordinances § 23.126 and § 23.127
- Optional: Advertising and the First Amendment
April 6: What’s a “reasonable fit”?
- Commercial Speech
- Read MPML 13, pp. 601-627
- Optional: Parts II-IV of A Brief History of the Commercial Speech Doctrine, 2 Hastings Sci. & Tech. L.J. 103 (will require ACU sign-in)
April 11: EXAM 3: Intellectual Property, Commercial Speech (MPML 6, 13)
April 13: What can (and can’t) you say about sex?
- Obscenity/Erotica
- Read MPML 10
- Read Texas Penal Code, Chapter 43
- Optional: Pornography and Obscenity
April 16 (midnight): Paper A-max deadline
April 18: What about the kids and sex? What about sex and violence?
- Obscenity/Erotica/Child Pornography and Violence
- Guest Speaker: Aisha Saleem, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Northern District of Texas
- Read The Secondary-effects Doctrine, Virtual Child Pornography,
- Read Regulation of violent video games sales to minors violates First Amendment
April 20: Can they really say that on TV?
- Broadcasting
- Read MPML 11, pp. beginning-503
April 25: What’s different about radio and TV?
- Broadcasting/Ownership
- Read Broadcasting
- Read MPML 11, p. 503-end
- Skim MPML 12
April 27: How far can courts go to ensure a fair trial?
- Free Press/Fair Trial, Newsgathering
- Read MPML 7&8
- Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, Chapter 22, Subchapter C
Sunday, April 30 (midnight): Paper B-max deadline
May 2: How high is the “wall of separation”?
- Establishment/Free Exercise Clauses
- Overview: Religious Liberty in America by John Witte Jr., professor of law at Emory University, on First Amendment Center Web site
May 4: When can they say “You can’t worship that way”?
- Establishment/Free Exercise
Sunday, May 7 (midnight): Paper final deadline
Tuesday, May 9, 10-11:45 a.m.: FINAL EXAM: Comprehensive