Mass Communication Law

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Since Chief Justice John Roberts took the bench, the U.S. Supreme Court has taken on a number of high-profile First Amendment cases.  The cases the Court has decided or set for oral argument include, among many others, Citizens United v. FEC (campaign finance); Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project (material support statute), United States v. Stevens (depictions of animal cruelty); Synder v. Phelps (funeral protests); Christian Legal Society v. Martinez (non-discrimination policy); Garcetti v. Ceballos (government employees); Morse v. Frederick (student speech rights); United States v. Williams (child pornography); FCC v. Fox (fleeting expletives); and Schwarzenegger v. Entertainment Merchants Association (violent video games).  The panelists will address, among other things, why the Court has developed such an interest in First Amendment questions, whether its decisions can be reconciled, and what these decisions signify for the future of First Amendment jurisprudence.