As interpreted by the jury instruction, the provision chills constitutionally protected political speech because of the possibility that a State will prosecute -- and potentially convict -- somebody engaging only in lawful political speech at the core of what the First Amendment is designed to protect. Id. At 556. In his dissent, Justice Thomas disagreed with the Court's reasoning. In fact, Thomas accuses the Court of ignoring the realities of cross burning. Justice Thomas points out that "in every culture, certain things acquire meaning well beyond what outsiders can comprehend. That goes for both the sacred and the profane." Id. At 388. Thomas points out that the Ku Klux Klan is a terrorist organization, "which, in its endeavor to intimidate, or even eliminate those it dislikes, uses the most brutal of methods." Id. At 389. Thomas points out, "in our culture, cross burning has almost invariably meant lawlessness and understandably instills in its victims well-grounded fear of physical violence." Id. At 391. In fact, Thomas points out that the statute was not aimed at punishing offensive beliefs. In contrast,...
Id. At 394. Instead Va. Code Ann. 18.2-423 was enacted to prevent the very real intimidation felt by those who witnessed a burning cross. In conclusion, Thomas determined that the statute "prohibits only conduct, not expression. and, just as one cannot burn down someone's house to make a political point and then seek refuge in the First Amendment, those who hate cannot terrorize and intimidate to make their point." Id. Thomas concluded that because a burning cross had become merely a method of intimidation, it fell outside of the realm of speech and was not entitled to any protection under the First Amendment.
public to scholars, the death penalty has come under severe criticism in contemporary epoch. The debate between the supporters and criticizers of capital punishment has been going on for decades. Is death penalty constitutional? What are the factors that may render it unconstitutional? Is racial discrimination one of such factors? The paper uses a set of law review articles and highlights racial discrimination in death penalty in United States, discusses
Virginia Department of Social Service This is a paper discussing policy in Virginia Department of Social Service, deals with diversity, ethics and privacy issues in the work place. It has 10 sources in Turabian style. Creativity, diversity and innovation define the health and wealth of a nation, a nation is of course not a single unit. It comprises of people of different races, the ideologies, the industries, companies and organizations which are
The government has no right turning a blind eye to criminals who possess arms, allowing innocent citizens to live unprotected in their own homes. It is far too late to restrict access to guns, anyway. The market has already opened its arms to criminals who have stashes of weapons. Those weapons aren't going anywhere and so American citizens must have unrestricted access to the weapons that can protect them
Law Is a Reflection of the Morality of the Time: The evolving judicial interpretation of the Constitution Constitution has become such a respected document and holds such an important place in American life it is often conceptualized as a transcendent, ahistorical work of literature. However, the ways in which has been interpreted over the years have been profoundly influenced by cultural values and morality. These ideas can be highly specific to
" Radical abolitionists began springing up all across the nation. They started a movement early in the 19th century and gained power and strength as more people began to speak out against the owning of human beings. Many abolitionists defied the original Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, as well as the later Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, and actively sought to assist runaway slaves in their quest for freedom, most notably through
Constraints of Blacks Discussion the geographic spaces and constraints of Blacks in the United States between 1865 and 2010. Reconstruction Period Throughout the reconstruction period several acts were passed that were intended to integrate African-Americans or freedmen as they were referred to in the period in society. Despite the initial goals of the legislative acts, African-Americans faced a significant antagonism from many whites in the south who did not agree to the new
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now