12 Supreme Court milestones that helped define First Amendment rights (gallery)
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The First Amendment is first in the Constitution for a reason, and it only makes sense that the 2019 Law Day theme is “Free Speech, Free Press, Free Society.”
Law Day, hosted annually May 1, is an opportunity to reflect on the rule of law in our society. This year’s theme looks to celebrate fundamental freedoms from the First Amendment.
In recent times, the First Amendment has protected a woman who flipped the bird to a police officer in Michigan. It was used as the basis for an unsuccessful suit by an unvaccinated Kentucky teen who claimed a violation of his religious rights when he was prevented from playing in a basketball game and banned from the classroom during a chickenpox outbreak. It’s even aided President Donald Trump over the blocking of his Twitter followers.
As part of the countdown to Law Day, we created a gallery of 12 free speech and free press milestones from the Supreme Court—moments in legal history that defined our understanding of these rights, and another gallery celebrating the unusual number of First Amendment case decisions that are having an anniversary in 2019.
If you want to read more about how the Supreme Court has ruled on the First Amendment over time, check out our previous gallery here. And check out these ABA Journal stories, as well as our April cover feature and further information about Law Day.
