Freedom Of Speech And Press in United States

Practical Information

Note: Some of this information was last updated in 1982

A guarantee, provided by the First and Fourteenth Amendments, against governmental restrictions upon public speeches and publications. The Constitution, however, has not been interpreted as granting an absolute right to speak without responsibility whatever one chooses. As Mr. Justice Holmes stated in one of his opinions, “The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theater and causing a panic.” When deciding free speech and press cases, the courts are faced with difficult questions of degree, questions involving the balancing of the public protection and an individual’s civil rights (in U.S. law). See also clear and present danger (in U.S. law); bill (in U.S. law) fof Rights1.

(Revised by Ann De Vries)

What is Freedom Of Speech And Press?

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