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The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution safeguards freedom of expression, freedom of religion, and freedom of press, and also protects the principle of separation of church and state. Studying the judicial interpretation of the First Amendment is fundamental to understanding constitutional law in the United States, as many important and controversial high court cases have concerned the First Amendment, especially in recent years.
This course focuses on U.S. Supreme Court decisions in selected First Amendment cases, including the arguments asserted and reasoning applied. Students are required to assess these cases and make legal arguments in seminar discussions and also formal moot court debate exercises. In particular, the cases in this course concern the following topics: symbolic expression, extremist expression, political satire, threatening speech, speech rights of students, establishment of religion, and exercise of religion. This course also takes a comparative approach to studying many of the decisions, especially those which are inconsistent with the decisions of European courts in similar cases. Cultural differences and implications are naturally considered as well. The objectives of this course include the following: 1) to deepen students’ understanding of U.S. interpretation of freedom of expression and religion; 2) to provide context for students to compare and assess various approaches to such issues; 3) to provide a framework for students to evaluate the applicability and merits of First Amendment legal arguments in potential future cases; 4) to aid students in acquiring and using sophisticated legal English vocabulary and grammar. Last update: Marešová Svatava, Ing. (19.10.2022)
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Last update: Marešová Svatava, Ing. (19.10.2022)
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Last update: Marešová Svatava, Ing. (19.10.2022)
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Supplemental Literature:
Stone, Geoffrey R. (Editor, 2008). The First Amendment. Aspen Publishers.
Irons, Peter (Editor, 1997). May it Please the Court: The First Amendment. New York: The New Press.
Mutua, Makau (2004). Facilitating Freedom of Religion or Belief, A Deskbook. Oslo Coalition on Freedom of Religion or Belief. Last update: Davidson Sean, J.D. (17.09.2021)
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