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Explore Supreme Court opinions, overview essays, academic discussions, and other resources to get the full picture of how the United States’ culture of free speech and First Amendment law has developed over the years. Whether you’re an educator looking for classroom resources, a college student trying to understand your First Amendment freedoms on campus, or generally interested in your rights, our library and FIRE’s resources are here to help.

Case Archive

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March 24, 2022

HOUSTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM v. WILSON

"Did the Board’s censure offend Mr. Wilson’s First Amendment right to free speech?"

June 23, 2021

MAHANOY AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT, PETITIONER v. B. L.

"[w]hether [Tinker], which holds that public school officials may regulate speech that would materially and substantially disrupt the work and discipline of the school, applies to student speech that occurs off campus.”

June 19, 2014

LANE v. FRANKS

Does the 1st Amendment protect a public employee’s subpoenaed trial testimony that was not a part of the employee’s ordinary job responsibilities?

June 25, 2007

DEBORAH MORSE, et al. v. JOSEPH FREDERICK

Whether the First Amendment allows public schools to prohibit students from displaying messages that allegedly promote the use of illegal substances at so-called school-sponsored events. Whether the Ninth Circuit departed from established principles of qualified immunity in holding that a public high school principal was liable in a damages lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. _ 1983 when, pursuant to the school districts policy against displaying messages promoting illegal substances, she disciplined a student for displaying a large banner with a slang marijuana reference at a school-sponsored, faculty-supervised event.

June 11, 2001

GOOD NEWS CLUB, et al. v. MILFORD CENTRAL SCHOOL

Whether a public school policy creating a limited public forum that expressly bans religious groups from school facilities constitutes viewpoint discrimination in violation of the First Amendment freedom of speech. Whether allowing the Good News Club to use school facilities for meetings would have constituted a violation of the Establishment Clause.

March 22, 2000

BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN SYSTEM v. SCOTT HAROLD SOUTHWORTH, et al.

Whether a mandatory student activity fee used to facilitate extracurricular student speech at a public university violates the First Amendment.

May 24, 1999

AURELIA DAVIS, AS NEXT FRIEND OF LASHONDA D. v. MONROE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION et al.

Under Title IX, can a school board be held responsible for student-on-student harassment?

June 29, 1995

RONALD W. ROSENBERGER, et al. v. RECTOR AND VISITORS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA et al.

Whether a public university can deny funds to a religious student group that it provides to nonreligious student groups.

June 7, 1993

LAMB'S CHAPEL AND JOHN STEIGERWALD v. CENTER MORICHES UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT et al.

Whether a local school district that allows its facilities to be used for social and civic purposes may prevent a religious organization from using the facilities to show a movie that presents family issues from a religious perspective.

January 13, 1988

HAZELWOOD SCHOOL DISTRICT et al. v. KUHLMEIER et al.

Whether a high school principal’s removal of two articles from the student newspaper about pregnancy and divorce violated the First Amendment rights of the student editors. To what extent, consistent with the First Amendment, may educators exercise editorial control over school-sponsored speech?

First Amendment Court Cases