Jonah Patel
The US Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights are the foundation of universal human rights in American history. The First Amendment to the US Constitution protects the right to receive information and ideas, regardless of their social worth, and to be generally free from governmental intrusions into one's privacy and control of one's own thoughts. The Supreme Court of the United States characterised the rights of free speech and free press as fundamental personal rights and liberties. The First Amendment also limits the power of Congress and of the states to abridge the individual freedoms it protects.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Protects the right to receive information and ideas | Regardless of their social worth |
| Protects the right to be free from governmental intrusions into one's privacy and control of one's own thoughts | N/A |
| Protects the right to free speech | N/A |
| Protects the right to a free press | N/A |
| Limits the power of Congress and of the states to abridge the individual freedoms it protects | N/A |
| Prohibits unreasonable search and seizure | N/A |
| Prohibits cruel and unusual punishment | N/A |
| Prohibits compelled self-incrimination | N/A |
| Prohibits Congress from making any law respecting the establishment of religion | N/A |
| Prohibits the federal government from depriving any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law | N/A |
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What You'll Learn
The First Amendment protects the right to receive information and ideas
The US Constitution does protect freedom, as outlined in the First Amendment. The First Amendment protects the right to receive information and ideas, regardless of their social worth. This was confirmed by the Supreme Court in Stanley v Georgia (1969). The Supreme Court also stated that the First Amendment protects citizens from governmental intrusions into their privacy and control of their thoughts.
The First Amendment also protects the right to speak and the right to publish, which has been interpreted to protect individuals and society from government attempts to suppress ideas and information. This includes the right to be free from censorship of books, magazines, newspapers, art, film, music and materials on the internet.
The right to receive information and ideas has been used to justify the right of the public to film the police carrying out their official duties. This was seen in the case of Bond v Floyd (1966), where the Supreme Court declared that the First Amendment's central commitment is that "debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open".
The right to receive information and ideas is an important principle in First Amendment law, and it surfaces in a variety of contexts, including banned books at libraries, distribution of religious literature and commercial speech.
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The First Amendment protects freedom of expression
The US Constitution does protect freedom, specifically freedom of expression, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and the right to petition. The First Amendment limits the power of Congress and of the states to abridge the individual freedoms it protects.
The First Amendment has been interpreted by the Court as applying to the entire federal government, even though it is only expressly applicable to Congress. It protects erroneous statements to give freedom of expression the breathing space it needs to survive, and similarly protects statements criticising public policy and its implementation.
The right to free speech includes other mediums of expression that communicate a message. The level of protection speech receives depends on the forum in which it takes place. The right to freedom of the press is not very different from the right to freedom of speech. It allows an individual to express themselves through publication and dissemination. It does not afford members of the media any special rights or privileges not afforded to citizens in general.
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The Bill of Rights prohibits unreasonable search and seizure
The US Constitution does protect freedom. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the right to free speech and a free press. The Supreme Court has stated that this includes the right to receive information and ideas, regardless of their social worth, and to be generally free from governmental intrusions into one's privacy and control of one's own thoughts. The First Amendment also protects the right to publicly discuss all matters of public concern, without previous restraint or fear of subsequent punishment.
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. This means that the federal government cannot search a person without a warrant or probable cause. Warrants must be issued by a judge or magistrate, justified by probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and must particularly describe the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.
The Fourth Amendment has been applied to the digital age, and it has been held that the Fourth Amendment rights apply in both state and federal courts. The Fourth Amendment also applies to arrests and the collection of evidence. However, what is "reasonable" is a question the US Supreme Court has grappled with for more than two hundred years. Technological advancements have expanded the government's ability to search and surveil people, raising the question of what constitutes a "search" under the Fourth Amendment.
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The Bill of Rights prohibits cruel and unusual punishment
The US Constitution protects freedom of speech and freedom of the press. The First Amendment limits the power of Congress and of the states to abridge the individual freedoms it protects. The Supreme Court stated in Thornhill v. Alabama (1940) that the freedom of speech and of the press guaranteed by the United States Constitution embraces at the least the liberty to discuss publicly and truthfully all matters of public concern, without previous restraint or fear of subsequent punishment. In Bond v. Floyd (1966), a case involving the Constitutional shield around the speech of elected officials, the Supreme Court declared that the First Amendment central commitment is that "debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open".
The US Constitution also protects freedom from cruel and unusual punishment. The Bill of Rights prohibits cruel and unusual punishment as part of the Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution. The amendment was adopted on 15 December 1791, along with the rest of the US Bill of Rights. The amendment serves as a limitation upon the state or federal government to impose unduly harsh penalties on criminal defendants before and after a conviction. The phrase 'cruel and unusual punishment' was interpreted in the early years of the republic as prohibiting torture and particularly barbarous punishments. The prohibition against cruel and unusual punishments has led courts to hold that the Constitution totally prohibits certain kinds of punishment, such as drawing and quartering. The ban on cruel and unusual punishment first appeared in the English Bill of Rights in 1689 and was adopted by American colonists in some colonial legislation. It was also included in most of the original state constitutions.
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The Bill of Rights prohibits compelled self-incrimination
The United States Constitution protects freedom of speech and freedom of the press. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution states that the government has no power to restrict expression because of its message, its ideas, its subject matter, or its content. The Supreme Court has ruled that the First Amendment protects the right to receive information and ideas, regardless of their social worth, and to be generally free from governmental intrusions into one's privacy and control of one's own thoughts.
The Bill of Rights, which includes the Fifth Amendment, was ratified to protect individuals from the government. The Fifth Amendment prohibits compelled self-incrimination, meaning that an individual shall not "be compelled to be a witness against himself". This was proposed by James Madison, who included a constitutional provision that an individual shall not "be compelled to be a witness against himself in any criminal case". This is often referred to as "taking the Fifth". The Fifth Amendment has been used in cases such as *United States v. White* and *Hoffman v. United States*, where the Supreme Court ruled that a witness has the right to refuse to testify when they have a reasonable fear that the testimony might assist the government in building a criminal case against them.
The Court has ruled that the degree of coercion may also prove decisive in whether an individual is compelled to incriminate themselves. For example, the Court ruled that moving a prisoner from a medium security unit to a maximum security unit was insufficient to compel him to incriminate himself, despite the harsher living conditions. However, the Court has not developed a clear doctrinal explanation to identify the differences between permissible and impermissible coercion.
The protection against self-incrimination is a fundamental principle that has been generally accepted over a long period of time. The principle originated from the use of the oath in Star Chamber proceedings, which were used to root out political heresies. Following the Revolution, six states embodied the privilege against self-incrimination in their constitutions, and the privilege was recommended by several state ratifying conventions for inclusion in a federal bill of rights.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, the First Amendment to the United States Constitution protects freedom of speech. In Bond v. Floyd (1966), the Supreme Court declared that the First Amendment's central commitment is that "debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open".
Yes, the First Amendment to the United States Constitution also protects freedom of the press. The Supreme Court characterised the rights of free speech and free press as fundamental personal rights and liberties.
Yes, the Bill of Rights prohibits Congress from making any law respecting the establishment of religion.
