The First Amendment, Freedom of the Press Its Constitutional History and the Contempory Debate

by Epps, Garrett; Oppenheimer, David B.,

• ISBN13: 9781591025634
• ISBN10: 159102563X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-10-31
• Publisher: Prometheus
• More Book Details
• Purchase Benefits

Summary

The press in the United States is freer than in any other country in the world, and virtually any in history. American courts give critics of society and government extraordinary freedom to disseminate views that are unpopular, subversive, and even hateful. How did freedom of the press evolve over the centuries, what values does American press freedom claim to serve today, and what challenges will this right face in the twenty-first century? These are some of the important questions addressed in this scholarly but accessible volume on one of our most important freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment. Award-winning legal scholar Garrett Epps has selected significant historical and contemporary articles in addition to a sampling of key cases on freedom of the press in this outstanding collection. Beginning with a history of the idea of press freedom in England and America, he includes classic essays by John Milton, Thomas Jefferson, and John Stuart Mill, among others. A selection of landmark cases follows, which span the twentieth century and include such major issues as censorship vs. national security, reporters' protected sources, the definition of obscenity, and other issues. A section of contemporary essays includes contributions by Justice Hugo Black, Justice Potter Steward, Alexander Meiklejohn, Robert Bork, and others. In conclusion, Epps offers brief selections from other cultures on freedom of the press and he examines the unprecedented challenges to a free press in the twenty-first century from a global Internet culture that allows information to cross all borders and makes the definition of journalism fuzzy.

Author Biography

Garrett Epps is professor of law at the University of Baltimore and was the Orlando John Marian H. Hollis Professor of Law at the University of Oregon School of Law

Table of Contents

Series Editor's Preface	p. 11
Acknowledgments	p. 15
Introduction	p. 17
Historical Foundations
Areopagitica	p. 29
"An Apology for the Printers"	p. 40
"An American 'Cato' Defends Criticism of the Government"	p. 46
"Sentiments on the Liberty of the Press"	p. 52
Andrew Hamilton Defends John Peter Zenger	p. 57
"Libels; Liberty of the Press"	p. 65
"The Federalist No. 84"	p. 68
Reply to the Pennsylvania Minority	p. 71
"Letter to Edward Carrington"	p. 74
"The Virginia Report of 1799"	p. 76
From Democracy in America	p. 87
Expansion Through Case Law
Contempt of Court: Patterson v. Colorado	p. 99
Publishing Dissenting Views in Wartime: Frohwerk v. United States	p. 103
"Prior Restraint": Near v. Minnesota	p. 107
The Press and the "Taxes on Knowledge": Grosjean v. American Press Company	p. 115
The End of Seditious Libel: New York Times v. Sullivan	p. 121
Broadcast Licensees and "Fairness": Red Lion Broadcasting Company v. FCC	p. 133
Censorship and "National Security": New York Times v. United States	p. 141
Is There a "Journalist's Privilege"?: Branzburg v. Hayes	p. 151
Narrowing Obscenity: Miller v. California	p. 164
Newspapers and "the Right of Reply": Miami Herald v. Tornillo	p. 170
Free Press and Fair Trial: Nebraska Press Association v. Stuart	p. 176
Reporting on Judicial Discipline: Landmark Communications, Inc. v. Virginia	p. 188
Prior Restraint and the End of the World: United States v. Progressive, Inc.	p. 195
"Pornography" and Women's Rights: American Booksellers Association, Inc. v. Hudnut	p. 203
Offensive Parody: Hustler Magazine v. Falwell	p. 210
Access to Criminal Trials: Richmond Newspapers, Inc. v. Virginia	p. 216
Promises of Confidentiality as "Contracts": Cohen v. Cowles Media	p. 226
Free Speech on the Internet: Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union	p. 233
Contemporary Thoughts
"The Bill of Rights"	p. 245
From Toward a General Theory of the First Amendment	p. 256
"Neutral Principles and Some First Amendment Problems"	p. 272
"Or of the Press"	p. 281
"The Media That Citizens Need"	p. 286
From the preface to Emergence of a Free Press	p. 300
"Rethinking Prior Restraint"	p. 307
"Or of the [Blog]"	p. 322
Appendices
Constitution of the United States of America	p. 341
Amendments to the Constitution	p. 357
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