MVV193K Freedom of Speech and Religion

Faculty of Law
Spring 2016
Extent and Intensity
0/1. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Gordon R. Muir (lecturer), doc. JUDr. Ing. Michal Radvan, Ph.D. (deputy)
Guaranteed by
doc. JUDr. Ing. Michal Radvan, Ph.D.
Department of Financial Law and Economics – Faculty of Law
Contact Person: Mgr. Věra Redrupová, B.A.
Supplier department: Department of Financial Law and Economics – Faculty of Law
Timetable of Seminar Groups
MVV193K/01: Mon 14. 3. 11:10–12:40 038, Wed 16. 3. 13:30–15:00 034, 15:05–16:35 034, Fri 18. 3. 9:35–11:05 211, 11:10–12:40 211, Mon 21. 3. 13:30–15:00 038, 15:05–16:35 038, Tue 22. 3. 15:05–16:35 038
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 30 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/30, only registered: 0/30
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 31 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
Goals and Objectives:
A. Introduce students to American concepts of freedom of speech and religion under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
B. Review past United States Supreme Court decisions to understand nature and scope of First Amendment freedoms of speech and religion.
C. Help students to better understand the extent to which freedom of speech and religion is protected in the United States under various scenarios.
Syllabus
  • I. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Articles 18 and 19.
  • A. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
  • B. Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers.
  • II. United States Constitution, First Amendment.
  • A. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.
  • B. Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech.
  • IV. Brief Overview of Freedom of Speech and Religion.
  • A. Freedom of Speech - can voice opinion using words, symbols or actions.
  • 1. Freedom of speech is not absolute.
  • 2. Core political speech is highly protected since it is purely expressive in nature and serving an important function.
  • 3. Time, manner, and place restrictions must:
  • a. Be content neutral;
  • b. Be narrowly tailored;
  • c. Serve a significant governmental interest; and
  • d. Leave open ample alternative channels for communication. Ward v. Rock Against Racism, 491 U.S. 781 (1989).
  • B. Freedom of Religion.
  • 1. No law can be made respecting an establishment of religion.
  • a. Three-prong test of Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602 (1971) - if any one of three prongs are violated, the government action is unconstitutional.
  • (1) Entanglement Prong - law must not result in “excessive government entanglement,” taking into consideration where, when and how the religious activity is occurring and if objective outsider would perceive the religious activity as being government-sponsored or approved [reading Bible to start school day - Abington School District v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203 (1963)].
  • (2) Effect Prong - law must not advance or inhibit religious practice; i.e., does religious activity primarily have the effect of advancing a religion [nativity scene-yes; menorah next to a Christmas tree and a sign saluting liberty-no, because it merely recognize that both Christmas and Hanukkah are part of the same winter holiday season - County of Allegheny v. ACLU, 492 U.S. 573 (1989)].
  • (3) Purpose Prong - law must have a secular legislative purpose; i.e., does religious activity have a nonreligious reason [like monument for the Ten Commandments on Texas Capitol grounds with 16 other monuments all demonstrating the values that Texas settlers possessed - Van Orden v. Perry, 545 U.S. 677 (2005); but see McCreary County v. ACLU, 545 U.S. 844 (2005)(Christianity was the sole common element in display of the Ten Commandments at two county courthouses and there was no other secular or historical connection between the Ten Commandments and other historical documents)].
  • 2. No law can be made prohibiting the free exercise of religion.
  • a. If a law is “neutral” and “generally applicable,” then it usually does not violate the Free Exercise Clause.
  • b. The government must typically have a “compelling interest to refuse to accommodate religiously motivated conduct.”
  • C. First Amendment cases often implicate more than a single freedom identified in the First Amendment.
  • D. State constitutions can afford its citizens greater protections than the United States Constitution.
Literature
  • See Teacher’s Information for full details
Teaching methods
lectures with discussions, case studies
Assessment methods
A. Active class participation.
B. Freedom of religion - written case study analysis by student.
C. Freedom of speech - written case study analysis by student.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught only once.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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