NationStates Jolt Archive

Okay, here's the deal. I'm trying to write a midterm for my students in a course on Civil Liberties and Civil Rights in United States Supreme Court doctrine. For their "essay," I want them to write opinions for a hypothetical case. I have some ideas, but since there are also plenty of people on here with an interest in this sort of thing, I figured I'd throw it out there for interesting ideas.

Basically, a "hypothetical" case is exactly what it sounds like: a sort of "what if this situation happened?" My students will be asked to write majority and minority opinions based on the doctrines and cases they have learned.

Here are the rules:

1) They have only studied (so far) public speech/demonstration doctrine and press doctrine (NOT including obscenity). So, only cases that deal with these issues.

2) The hypothetical must present a real/possible/plausible/believable scenario. This should be something that could really happen, may have happened already... or even something that has happened to you or an acquaintance--but has not, of course, already been decided by the Court! If you know of a relevant/interesting case that is currently in the courts, that would be great.

3) The case cannot simply mimic previously decided cases. While we may not know that the current Court would follow precedent with respect to, say, war-protest armbands in school, for obvious reasons this would be too "easy" an assignment for my students. The relevant precedent must be ambiguous or contradictory. (You need not list the precedents to give me a suggestion, however!)

Example: A public high school student is making a video for a school project, and as he pans across a group of students one of his classmates makes a Nazi-style salute. The footage winds up in front of the whole school, and he incident results in disruptions and fights involving Jewish students and others. The student who made the film is suspended or otherwise penalized by school authorities. Constitutionally protected free expression, or not? [I know some of you will want to respond, but I would much rather see your own hypotheticals.]

Thanks to all contributors!

Since, without thinking, I originally posted this at a time when most Americans, at least, would be in bed... I am bumping this so that anyone getting bored at work this morning will have the opportunity to reply.

Any takers?

How about the current investigation into whistleblowers/leakers in the White House over the NSA domestic spying program? There's all sorts of room for hypotheticals in the question of protected speech, especially when you factor in the legislated whistleblower protections (which are better on paper than in practice, unfortunately), and in light of the Fitzgerald investigation into the Plame outing.

How's this:

Reporter for a major newspaper runs into an old High School buddy who now works for the NSA/CIA/FBI. They sit down in a bar to reminisce about old times and the government agent ends up getting very, very intoxicated and in discussing what he does for the government he reveals classified information to the effect that the government, using out-and-out illegal torture of a prisoner has uncovered a plot to bomb the White House and that the agency is just waiting for the guys involved to make their first move so they can arrest them in the act of trying to set the bomb rather than arrest them now on just a conspiracy charge. The reporter is shocked over the stories of torture of the prisoner and after agonizing all night, he writes an article for his newspaper, never mentioning his friend by name, but that reveals the details of the torture and the agency doing it and the information about the plot to bomb the white house. As a result of his story the agency is forced to move on the terrorists sooner than they wanted and when the arrive they find the terrorists have "closed up shop" and slipped away and they end up not arresting anyone. The reporter is arrested and charged with the publication of classified information and a demand he reveal his source is made. He claims first amendment protection as a defense to the publication charge and refuses to reveal his source. Meanwhile there are riots over the torture charges and various members of the agency involved who want to go public are fired or threatened with firing or transferred to duty stations in Antartica or some such to keep them quiet.

Ok, it is a little rough, I admit, but with some polishing this might work for you.

Thanks, these are pretty good as press issues... Although I am a bit concerned about drawing a hypothetical directly from high-profile cases. While one should think that my students pay attention to these things, I am not convinced; and technically, watching the news is not a requirement of the class. Therefore, these hypotheticals might unfairly privilege students who read or do other "extra" work--in which they have probably even heard constitutional issues discussed. I would like to get more that are "original" or deal with less high-profile issues.

Also, anything on speech/expression/demonstration?

How about this, a reporter, for the school newspaper (i.e. student run) discovers that the principal of the school and his secretary are having an affair (they are both married to other people). The student wants to expose the principal and writes a piece for the school paper describing, truthfully, what he saw and heard when he accidently walked in on them in the supply closet. The school's advisor for the paper refuses to publish it due to its "scandalous" nature. In a protest of the refusal to publish the truth about a scandal in the school's administration, the entire newspaper staff stages a walk-out in support of the student and the story and at a time 10 minutes before school was to let out for the day anyway, they all get up and leave their classes and gather around the flagpole in front of the school where they pass out copies of the "banned" article to other students and any one else who asks what they are doing. The school then suspends them for a week for their actions and permanently expells the student who wrote the article for his role in "inciting" the incident and distributing the article on school grounds.

On July 4th, 2006, in Anytown, XY Tom Smith was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, and incitement following a riot that occured during a demonstration at which he was a speaker. The demonstration is question was against a law which a significant percentage of Anytown residents felt granted the mayor unconstitutional authority. Mr. Smith's speech to the audiance consisted of an impassioned reading of the Declaration of Independence, at the conclusion of which he left the stage and began to walk towards City Hall. Many of the residents attending the demonstration followed Mr Smith, destroying public property along the way and, eventually, attempting to set the town hall on fire. Mr. Smith did not actively encourage any of the demonstrators, but neither did he attempt to discourage them.