ABSTRACT

This clearly written and well-focused volume combines concise decisions of the primary areas of communication law with the foundational case decisions in those domains. Thus, in one volume, students of communication law, constitutional law, political science, and related fields find both the key rulings that define each area of law and a detailed summary of the legal concepts, doctrines, and policies so vital to understanding the rulings within their legal context. The text forgoes the tendency to provide encyclopedic treatment of all the relevant cases and focuses instead on the two or three cases most vital to an accurate and informed understanding of the current state of each field of communication law. The chapters provide readers with the most salient concepts and the necessary depth to understand the law while permitting most reading time to be directed to the law itself. Full-text rulings allow readers to immerse themselves in the law itself--to develop a feel for its complexity, its flexibility, and its language.


Useful as a quick reference to the landmark rulings and the jurisprudence of communication law, this book also serves well as the primary text in related undergraduate courses or as a supplemental text in graduate classes in the field.

chapter 1|7 pages

The System of Law

The sources and hierarchy of the law and the judicial system

chapter 2|7 pages

Reading the Law

Understanding and locating legal texts

chapter 3|34 pages

First Amendment Theor and Prior Restraint

The history, meanings and boundaries of freedom of speech and of the press

chapter 4|37 pages

The First Amendment, Content-Based and Content-Neutral Laws

An approach to First Amendment balancing

chapter 5|56 pages

Public Forum Doctrine

The First A mendment and government property

chapter 6|73 pages

Incitements and Threats

Unprotected speech that prompts violence or causes harm

chapter 7|37 pages

Hate Speech

Protected speech that demeans and excludes

chapter 8|18 pages

Offensive Speech and Unpopular Association

Protection for profanity and bigotry

chapter 9|25 pages

Obscenity and indecency

chapter 10|40 pages

Commercial Speech

Shifting First Amendment protection

chapter 11|47 pages

Political Speech

The First Amendment's primary concern

chapter 12|80 pages

Media Distinctions

The medium's effect on First Amendment protection

chapter 13|43 pages

Expression in Schools

The influence of educational goals on speakers

chapter 14|48 pages

Libel

The First Amendment and defamatory speech

chapter 15|44 pages

Privacy and Its Invasion

Harms from publicity and newsgathering

chapter 16|58 pages

Copyright

Protecting intellectual products and encouraging creativity

chapter 17|35 pages

Access to Government

Advancing the people's right to know

chapter 18|58 pages

Open Courts

Balancing free press and fair trials

chapter 19|54 pages

Press Privileges and Limits

Journalists as citizens