JOUR 302 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Westboro Baptist Church, Marquess Of Queensberry Rules, Fred Phelps
Document Summary
R. a. v. v. st paul, 505 u. s. 377 (2003) Several teenagers allegedly burned a crudely fashioned cross on a black family"s lawn. The police charged one of the teens under a local bias-motivated criminal ordinance which prohibits the display of a symbol which "arouses anger, alarm or resentment in others on the basis of race, color, creed, religion or gender. " In a 9-to-0 vote, the justices held the ordinance invalid on its face because "it prohibits otherwise permitted speech solely on the basis of the subjects the speech addresses. " The first amendment prevents government from punishing speech and expressive conduct because it disapproves of the ideas expressed. Under the ordinance, for example, one could hold up a sign declaring all anti-semites are bastards but not that all jews are bastards. Government has no authority "to license one side of a debate to fight freestyle, while requiring the other to follow the marquis of queensbury.
