1. In Gitlow v.

New York, the Court announced that freedoms of speech and press “were

fundamental personal rights and liberties protected by the due process clause of the

Fourteenth Amendment from the impairment of the states.” Thus, the Court interpreted the

Fourteenth Amendment to say that states could not abridge the freedoms of expression

protected by the First Amendment. This decision began the development of the incorporation

doctrine, in which the Bill of Rights was nationalized.

2. Judges “balance” freedom of expression against competing values like public order, national

security, and the right to a free trial. Courts draw a line to what is permitted and what is

forbidden. Obscenity and libel, for example, are not protected by the First Amendment. But

picketing is protected. Other expressions such as fraud and incitement to violence are

considered action rather than speech.

3. The Supreme Court has never been able to truly define obscenity, however, Chief Justice

Warren Burger wrote that materials were obscene if:

a. The work, taken as a whole, appealed “to a prurient interest in sex.”

b. The work showed “patently offensive” sexual conduct that was specifically defined

by the obscenity law.

c. The work, taken as a whole, lacked “serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific

value.”

Decisions regarding whether material was obscene, said the Court, should be based on juries

applying the contemporary standards of local –not national– communities.

4. Public figures have to prove a jury, in effect, that whoever wrote or said untrue statements

about them knew that the statements were untrue and intended to harm them. This standard
 makes libel cases difficult for public figures to win, because it is difficult to prove that the

publication was intentionally malicious.

5. Under Schenck v. U.S. the Supreme Court declared that government can limit speech if the

speech provokes a “clear and present danger” of substantive evils.

6. In Mapp v. Ohio the Supreme Court ruled that the Fourth Amendment’s protection against

unreasonable searches and seizures must be extended to the states as well as the federal

government.

7. Numerous legal decisions and legislations have been made over the case of abortion. In

Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court held that a state ban on abortions was unconstitutional.

Webster v. Reproductive Health Services upheld laws requiring minors to notify one or both

parents or a judge before an abortion. The Court ruled that family planning services

receiving federal funds could not provide women any counseling regarding abortion in the

case Rust v. Sullivan. Finally, in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the Court changed its

standard for evaluating restrictions, upheld a 24 hour waiting period, a parental or judicial

consent for minors, and a requirement that doctors present women with information on the

risks of operation.

Under Roe v. Wade the Supreme Court decision forbade state control over abortions

during the first trimester of pregnancy, permitted states to limit abortions to protect the

mother’s health in the second trimester, and permitted states to protect the fetus during the

third trimester. This decision unleashed a storm of protest, however, the states adjusted to the

new decision and it governed public policy. Congress has passed numerous of statutes

forbidding the use of federal funds for abortions. Many states have passed similar

restrictions. The legislation made as a result of Rust v. Sullivan was also greeted with public
fury. Many individuals believed that the rule would deny many poor women abortion

counseling and the limit to the First Amendment right of a medical practitioner to counsel a

client. On his third day in office, President Clinton lifted the ban on abortion counseling.

Indeed, abortion is a very controversial topic ever since it was first raised by the

Supreme Court in 1973, and it is still being debated. Numerous abortion cases have been

held and many laws and legislations have been made.