POL 1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Symbolic Speech, Literacy Test, White Primaries
Document Summary
Justice scalia: if there is a bedrock principle in underlying the first amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable . Real problem is not constitutional validity, it is logistics. The government cannot combat the internet when it is trying to limit the spread of certain info. Public officials do not have the same protection as private people do. Scotus set the standard that public debate about public officials will be essentially a free for all. To sue, one must act with a reckless disregard for the truth and act with actual malice . Declaration of independence and the 14th amendment"s equal protection of the laws . Politicians: maximize votes to achieve their political goals. Constitutional support for slavery and the civil war amendments. Separate but equal upheld the segregation of public schools, as long as there was an equal public facility for blacks.
