Free Speech Defining the Freedom

Free Speech

DEFINING the FREEDOM of SPEECH in the United States, one of the most cherished constitutional freedoms is the so- called "right of free speech." The original source of that right is not actually the U.S.

Constitution itself, but the Bill of Rights, which refers to the first ten amendments to the Constitution. The First Amendment reads (in relevant part): "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Since the Constitution was first ratified in 1791, the most essential principle established by Supreme Court precedent is that the right to speak freely is not absolute but qualified. A long series of modern U.S. Supreme Court decisions have defined the right of free speech to apply to different types of speech very differently while still preserving the fundamental principle intended by the Framers. First, the Court has decided that freedom of speech applies only to the expression of ideas, and not necessarily to the manner of their dissemination. Therefore, while the government may not censor speech for its content, it may regulate the time, place, and manner of its communication. Likewise, the Court has afforded different levels of protection for different kinds of speech. Political speech and the free press enjoy the highest level of constitutional protection and the government must meet strict criteria to justify any attempt to censor it; commercial speech, by contrast, enjoys some protection, but is much more susceptible to government regulation, although even commercial speech may not be controlled unreasonably. The Court has also defined certain physical acts and demonstrations, such as burning the American Flag in protest, as "speech" because those acts are intended to communicate ideas. Similarly, even highly offensive words, such as "***** the draft" are protected by the doctrine of free speech, which generated a specific decision in Cohen v.

United States (1970), after a Vietnam veteran was arrested for wearing a jacket with those words into a courthouse. In principle, even speech that is "offensive" is considered to deserve protection, because the consequences of censorship are even more harmful to society than involuntary exposure to offensive words in public. The same right protects artistic expression as another form of speech. In many countries, offensive speech in public is prohibited by law and political speech that is critical of the government or of public officials is severely punished by imprisonment, and in some cases, (such as Iraq (prior to 2003), even torture. On the other hand, the Supreme Court has also ruled that certain "utterances," while technically defined as "speech," are justifiably excepted from the protections ordinarily afforded to "speech." Specifically, words that expose others to danger, such as shouting "Fire!" In a crowded theater are not protected constitutionally; nor are so-called fighting words," defined as statements that would be expected to incite a normal person to a violent response.