License plates

Supreme Court
Rust v. Sullivan, 500 U.S. 173 (1991)
Perry Education Ass’n v. Perry Local Educators Ass’n, 460 U.S. 37 (1983)
Wooley v. Maynard, 430 U.S. 705 (1977)

Other
ACLU v. Bredesen, (6th Cir. 2006)
Planned Parenthood of South Carolina v. Rose, (4th Cir. 2004)
Lewis v. Wilson, 253 F.3d 1077 (8th Cir. 2001)
Perry v. McDonald, 280 F.3d 159 (2nd Cir. 2001)
Planned Parenthood v. Rose, 236 F.Supp. 2d 564 (D.S.C. 2002)
Sons of Confederate Veterans, Inc. v. Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, 288 F.3d 610 (4th Cir. 2002)
Women’s Emergency Network v. Bush, No. 02-13981 (11th Cir. 2003)
Henderson v. Stalder, 287 F.3d 374 (5th Cir. 2002)

Guggenheim, Jack Achiezer and Jed M. Silversmith, “Confederate License Plates at the Constitutional Crossroads: Vanity Plates, Special Registration Organization Plates, Bumper Stickers, Viewpoints, Vulgarity, and the First Amendment,” 54 U. Miami L. Rev. 563 (2000)
Herald, Marybeth, “Licensed to Speak: The Case of Vanity Plates,” 72 Colo. L. Rev. 595 (2001)
Jacobs, Leslie Gielow, “Free Speech and the Limits of Legislative Discretion: The Example of Specialty License Plates,” 53 Fla. L. Rev. 419 (2001)
Jacobs, Leslie Gielow, “The Public Sensibilities Forum,” 95 Nw. U. L. Rev. 1357 (2001)
Marsh, Katherine, “License to Shill,” Legal Affairs (January/February 2003)

State-by-state statutes governing license plates

Fighting words

Supreme Court
Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, 315 U.S. 568 (1942)
Terminiello v. City of Chicago, 337 U.S. 1 (1949)
Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15 (1971)
Gooding v. Wilson, 405 U.S. 518 (1972)
Lewis v. City of New Orleans, 415 U.S. 130 (1974)
City of Houston v. Hill, 482 U.S. 451 (1987)
R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul, 505 U.S. 377 (1992)

Other
Bailey v. State of Arkansas, 972 S.W.2d 239 (Ark. 1998)
Brendle v. City of Houston, 759 So.2d 1274 (Miss.App. 2000)
Cornelius v. Brubaker, No. 01CV1254(MGD/JGL)(Dist. Minn.)(6/25/03)
In Re John M., 36 P.3d 772 (Ariz.App. 2001)
Johnson v. Campbell, 332 F.3d 199 (3rd Cir. 2003)
Marttila v. City of Lynchburg, 535 S.E.2d 693 (Virg. App. 2000)
Nichols v. Chacon, 110 F.Supp. 2d 1099 (W.D. Ark. 2000)
State v. Clay, No. CX-99-343 (Minn.App.)(9/14/99)
State v. Hammersley, 10 P.3d 1295 (Idaho 2000)
State v. Hubbard, No. C6-00-1836 (Minn.App.)(5/29/01)
State v. Melton, No. M1999-01248-CCA-R3-CD (Tenn.Cr.App.)(8/4/2000)
State v. York, 732 A.2d 859 (Me. 1999)
U.S. v. McDermott, 971 F.Supp. 939 (E.D. Pa. 1997)
Wisconsin v. Ovadal, No. 03-0377-CR, (Wis.App.)(10/7/03)

Note, “The Demise of the Chaplinsky Fighting Words Doctrine: An Argument for its Internment,” 106 Harv. L. Rev. 1129 (1993)

Robert M. O’Neil. “Rights in Conflict: The First Amendment’s Third Century,” 65 Law & Contemporary Problems 7 (2002)

Thomas M. Place, “Offensive Speech and the Pennsylvania Disorderly Conduct Statute,” 12 Temp. Pol. & Civ. Rts. L. Rev. 47 (2002)

Profanity and the First Amendment

Bumper stickers

Ethredge v. Hail, 56 F.3d 1324 (11th Cir. 1995)

Goodman v. City of Kansas City, 906 F.Supp. 537 (W.D. Mo. 1995)

Baker v. Glover, 776 F.Supp. 1511 (M.D. Ala. 1991)

Cunningham v. State, 400 S.E.2d 916 (Ga. 1991)

Fire Fighters Association v. Barry, 742 F.Supp. 1182 (D.D.C. 1990)

We The People, Inc. of the United States v. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 746 F.Supp. 213 (Dist. D.C. 1990)

Goldschmitt v. State of Florida, 490 So.2d 123 (Fla.App. 1986)

Connealy v. Walsh, 412 F.Supp. 146 (W.D. Mo. 1976)

Social dancing

Supreme Court

Barnes v. Glen Theatre Inc., 501 U.S. 560 (1991).

City of Dallas v. Stanglin, 490 U.S. 19 (1989).

Board of Directors of Rotary International v. Rotary Club of Duarte, 481 U.S. 537 (1987).

Roberts v. U.S. Jaycee, 468 U.S. 609 (1984).

Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965).

Other
Chiasson v. New York City Dept. of Consumer Affairs, 524 NYS. 2d 629 (Sup. Ct. NY Co. 1988).

Willis v. Town of Marshal, U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16967 (W.D.N.C. June 20, 2003).

Willis v. Town of Marshal, 293 F. Supp. 2d 608 (W.D.N.C. November 25, 2003).

Chevigny, Paul, “Social dancing and social association,” Unpublished paper.

Political yard signs

Supreme Court
City of Ladue v. Gilleo, 521 U.S. 43 (1994)

Other
Loren v. Sasser, 309 F.3d 1296 (11th Cir. 2002)
City of Painesville Building Department v. Dworken & Bernstein Co., 733 N.E.2d 1152 (Ohio 2000)
Curry v. Prince George’s County, 33 F.Supp. 2d 447 (D. Md. 1999)
Dimas v. City of Warren, 939 F.Supp. 554 (E.D. Mo. 1996)
Midlake on Big Boulder Lake, Condominium Association v. Cappuccio, 673 A.2d 340 (Penn.Super. 1996)
Arlington County Republican Committee v. Arlington County, 983 F.2d 587 (4th Cir. 1993)
Collier v. City of Tacoma, 854 P.2d 1046 (Wash. 1993)
Murphy v. Timber Trace Association, 779 S.W.2d 603 (Mo.App. 1989)
Ross v. Goshi, 351 F.Supp. 949 (D. HI 1972)

Speaking at public meetings

Supreme Court
City of Madison Joint School District No. 8 v. Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission, 429 U.S. 167 (1976)

Other
Rowe v. City of Cocoa, 358 F.3d 800 (11th Cir. 2004)
Dehne v. Griffin (unpublished)(No. 03-15175)(9th Cir.)
(9/8/2003)
Mesa v. White, 197 F.3d 1041 (10th Cir. 1999)
Hansen v. Bennett, 948 F.2d 397 (7th Cir. 1991)
White v. City of Norwalk, 900 F.2d 1421 (9th Cir. 1990)

New Jersey v. Charzewski, 811 A.2d 930 (N.J. 2002)
Bach v. School Board of the City of Virginia Beach, 139 F.Supp. 2d 738 (E.D. Va. 2001)
Luckett v. City of Grand Prairie (unpublished)(NO. 3:99-CV-1752-L)(N.D. Tex.)(3/21/2001)
Zapach v. Dismuke, 134 F.Supp. 2d 682 (E.D. Pa. 2001)
Gault v. City of Battle Creek, 73 F.Supp. 2d 811 (W.D. MI 1999)
City of Dayton v. Esrati, 707 N.E.2d 1140 (OhioApp. 1997)
Leventhal v. Vista Unified School District, 973 F.Supp. 951 (S.D. Cal. 1997)
Wilkinson v. Bensalem Township, 822 F.Supp. 1154 (E.D. Pa. 1993)
Board of Public Instruction of Broward County v. Doan, 224 So. 2d 693,699 (Fla. 1969)
Chaffee v. San Francisco Library Commission, 115 Cal. Rptr. 3d 336 (Cal. App. 2004)

Public employee speech

Resources for this topic are within the downloadable document in this section.

Fliers & leafleting

Supreme Court
City Council of Los Angeles v. Taxpayers for Vincent, 466 U.S. 789 (1984)
Schneider v. New Jersey, 308 U.S. 147 (1939)

Other
Jobe v. City of Catlettsburg, 409 F.3d 261 (6th Cir. 2005)
Krantz v. City of Fort Smith, 160 F.3d 1214 (8th Cir. 1998)
Deida v. City of Milwaukee, 176 F. Supp. 2d 859 (E.D. Wis. 2001)

True threats

Supreme Court
NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware, 458 U.S. 886 (1982)
Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343 (2003)
Watts v. United States, 394 U.S. 705 (1969)

Other
Planned Parenthood v. American Coalition of Life Activists, (9th Cir. 2002)
Porter v. Ascension School District, (5th Cir. 2004)
United States v. Cassel, (9th Cir. 2005)
United States v. Dinwiddie, (8th Cir. 1996)