Homework 1 (Tips) :

You can refer to “After all, you can’t yell ‘fire’ in a crowded theater” to help yourself write your decision. “The Supreme Court’s decision does suggest, though, that any future attempts to limit symbolic speech will have to be based on genuine threats of harm to public safety and not merely on the assertion that the speech is offensive or unsettling. In the Court’s own words, “the First Amendment does not permit such a shortcut.”

When symbols threaten: the line between speech, intimidation

Now, remember, I can encourage you to visit a page to curb your judgment, in the case I do so what counts the most? I do so which isn’t right or can it be right if my intent is in my view sincere, generous and noble?

Homework 1

The most recent headlines related to the topic were :

• Pastor Jones after a five hour trial burns a quran. (here) and (here)
• The John Galiano boosing outburst (here)
• Eric Zemmour speaks of the french crime statistics (here french)) French stats are here at the paragraph called “Une Surdélinquence des jeunes issus de l’immigration” (You’ll interestingly enough note that while this document is a very official report, it does mention French and Maghreb as ethnics which they are not as you know, France on its own counts at least 8 different ethnics)

 

First part :

One only of these stories is directly related to the first Amend. State your pick and explain why, with just a few words why the two others don’t. Do you think these stories can be compared?

Second part :

The Florida’s Pastor has been heavily criticized for his action and blamed for some violent demonstration that lead to a few deaths. Laura’s comment on this was  “Florida Pastor Terry Jones claims to be a Christian, yet he burned a Qur'an in protest last week. Muslims responded in Afghanistan by brutally murdering and beheading several UN workers. Instead of denouncing the radical Islamists across the Middle East, everyone from Democrats to General David Petraeus to Senator Lindsey Graham is denouncing the pastor. Is he really to blame for murders he did not commit? And what are the limits of free speech?”

According to you, has the pastor gone beyond the limits of free speech? (1000 words)

Has the Pastor broken the law? Explain.(2000 words)

From the Supreme Court most recent decisions what do you think the Court would decide? Write the decision.