Freedom Of Expression And Sedition Com/440

2055 Words9 Pages
Freedom of Expression and Sedition The paper will examine three different cases that describe the events and the limits of freedom of expression under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The cases chosen are unique but similar in each situation. The paper will end with a conclusion discussing the disregard of the individuals First Amendment Rights and how the courts were allowed to ignore the Constitutional rights. U.S. Supreme Court Feiner v. New York, 340 U.S. 315 (1951) Feiner v. New York No. 93 Argued October 17, 1950 Decided January 15, 1951 340 U.S. 315 On March 8, 1949, Irving Feiner was arrested for the offense of disorderly conduct. Feiner was holding an open-air meeting at the corner of South McBride and Harrison Street in the City of Syracuse. The Syracuse police department began receiving telephone calls from citizens concerning the meeting. Feiner was speaking to the crowd on his makeshift podium at approximately 6:30 p.m.. Feiner began his speech with pessimistic and derogatory political views in regard to President Harry Truman, the American Legion, and the Mayor of Syracuse. The comments generated hecklers from the crowd who did not agree with Feiner’s views. The crowd was a mix of African American and White people who began to crowd the street to listen to the speaker. The crowd of people grew and Feiner continued his speech in regard to equal rights, which was directed at the African American people standing in the crowd in anticipation to coax the African Americans to surmount against the Whites, at this point the crowd became restless and began threatening Feiner. According to the US Supreme Court Center (2004-2011), “the police had been observing the crowd and the speaker for over 30 minutes from across the street” (Certiorari to the Court of Appeals of New York, para. 1). The police officers made no advancements

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