“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” – The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution First Amendment Timeline: 21st Century 2001The U.S. Supreme rules in Bartnicki v. Vopper that a federal law prohibiting the publication of illegally intercepted wire communications violates the First Amendment rights of those who published the communications, though they were not the ones who intercepted them. The Court reasoned that application of the law to the defendants in this case “implicates the core provision of the First Amendment because it imposes sanctions on the publication of truthful information of public concern.” 2002The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Republican Party of Minnesota v. White that a provision prohibiting judicial candidates from announcing their views on disputed legal or political issues violates the First Amendment. 2002The U.S. Supreme Court upholds a Cleveland school-voucher program in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris. Challengers to the program asserted that it amounted to government support of parochial schools, and thus violated the establishment clause. The […]
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