Verbal Assaults & the First Amendment

This research paper discusses the zone of constitutional protection afforded verbal assaults under the First Amendment.

 Such assaults, particularly those containing racial slurs or insults, should not be insulated from legal prohibition as free speech because their toleration encourages violation of equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment of racial minorities and poisons the dialogue and relations among races in a manner detrimental to the healthy functioning of democracy in a pluralistic society.

Demise of the Fighting Words Doctrine

The First Amendment of the Constitution provides, in part: "Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press." According to conservative critic of the Court and strict constructionist Alexander Meiklejohn, the founding fathers intended that "the guarantee given by the First Amendment . . . is assured only to speech which bears . . . upon . . . matters of public interest" (Lockhart et al. 702-703). The guarantees of the First Amendment have been held to apply to all forms of state action, including actions of state and local governments and entities financed or subsidized by government, such as universities.

In a number of rulings in cases decided earlier in the 20th century, the Supreme Court recognized that freedom of speech was not an absolute right, but rather was limited by other laws such as those dealing with criminal and civil assault and trespass, l

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133-134). In a split five to four decision, the otherwise conservative Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice William Rehnquist reversed the Minnesota Supreme Court's decision in R.A.V. v. St. Paul, 505 U.S. 377 (1992). Justice Antonin Scalia for the majority said that "local governments . . . may prohibit littering or arson on people's lawns, but they may not single out racially motivated acts, such as cross burning for criminalization." Four Justices, Byron White, Harry Blackmun, Sandra O'Connor and John Stevens, agreed that the St. Paul ordinance was too broad and therefore unconstitutional under the First Amendment; but they disassociated themselves from the overly sweeping nature of Scalia's opinion, which they said turned previous First Amendment jurisprudence on its head. 3. Racial epithets on school campuses. As the nation's colleges and universities became more racially integrated as a result of court rulings and civil rights laws, the number of race-related incidents on campuses dramatically increased. According to Matsuda et al., a 1990 Report by the National Institute Against Prejudice and Violence found that 65 to 70 percent of minority students at public schools and at institutions of higher learning reported th
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Approximate Word count = 2642
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page)

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