Posted: November 9th, 2016

What was the Court’s decision (who won) in West Virginia State Bd. Of Educ. v. Barnette?

Questions: 1. Review the two cases below. How are these cases similar? How are they different? Wooley v. Maynard, (available in our online classroom) Walker v. Texas Divisions, Sons of Confederate Veterans, (available in our online classroom) 2. Discuss limits to free speech based on our studies. Your answer should include specific examples. 3. What was the Court’s decision (who won) in West Virginia State Bd. Of Educ. v. Barnette? Did you agree with the Court’s decision? Why or why not? 4. Choose one to answer: Explain the difference between judicial activists and judicial restraintists using examples. Are amicus curiae really “friends” of the Court? Why or why not? 5. What was the Court’s decision (who won) in Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire? Did you agree with the Court’s decision? Why or why not? 6. Pick two cases from the list below to compare and contrast. Snyder v. Phelps Texas v. Johnson Tinker v. If Des Moines Independent Community School District Williams-Yullee v. Florida Bar (available in our online classroom) 7. Why does Justice Alito dissent in Snyder v. Phelps? What are his main concerns about the majority opinion? 8. Discuss the boundaries of free speech as they relate to two of the following cases: New York Times Co. v. Sullivan Miller v. California Ashcroft v. The Free Speech Coalition (available in our online classroom) 9. Discuss what is meant by establishment of religion. Use specific examples from cases we have studied. 10. Current event analysis: Review the article below and evaluate the actions of both the University of Houston student government association and student government leader Rohini Sethi based on what you have learned about free speech. Please use specific examples from the cases we have studied in your analysis. From: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/08/11/all-lives-matter-flap-resolved-at-texas-school.html Quoting: ‘All Lives Matter’ flap resolved at Texas school By Perry Chiaramonte Published August 11, 2016 A University of Houston student who faced a 50-day suspension from her student government post for saying “all lives matter” on social media will be back at the gig when classes resume. “#ForgetBlackLivesMatter; more like AllLivesMatter,” Rohini Sethi, vice president of the university’s student government association, wrote in the wake of the deadly Dallas shooting in which five police officers were killed. The statement set off a firestorm that student government President Shane Smith to hand down the penalty. Saying ‘all lives matter’ is deemed offensive to some African-American groups who have adopted the catch phrase ‘black lives matter.’ The standard has flummoxed many in the national debate, who believe saying that all lives matter is as innocuous as it is true. Sethi’s suspension was lifted after she showed contrition and agreed to take a “leave of absence” from her post until fall classes begin. “I have chosen to take these steps on my own because of the division I’ve created among our student body,” Sethi said in a joint statement with Smith last week. “I may have the right to post what I did, but I still should not have. My words at the time didn’t accurately convey my feeling and cause many students to lose their faith in me to advocate for them. I will always continue to learn and be ready to discuss these issues.” Smith said it was never his intention to trample on free speech. “For those who were upset due to what they considered a violation of the first amendment, that was never my intention and I apologize for that impression,” Smith said in the statement. “For those that are disappointed by the change, this is a compromise based in the reality of the situation. My stance on racial injustice has always been clear. For all involved, this is truly the best outcome.” Sethi’s comment, and the SGA’s decision to issue the suspension, ignited a debate on free speech and controversy among the student body including the Black Student Union, which demanded that she be punished. “For her to say on her social media ‘forget black lives matter,’ it’s almost as if to say if all of us were to die tomorrow, she wouldn’t care,” BSU president Kadidja Kone told the Washington Post at the time. In addition to the suspension, Sethi was also ordered to attend no fewer than three cultural events each month and write a letter of reflection on her original statement and attend mandatory diversity training. Sethi originally stood her ground at the time of the controversy. “I disagree with the sanctions taken against me by my SGA because I believe I have done a great deal to better understand the controversy I caused,” she wrote on her Facebook page earlier this month.