The Civil Liberties Defense Group

The First Amendment

    The three main rights secured by the First Amendment are freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom of religion.   Freedom of speech is strictly protected, meaning that for the government to regulate speech its action must be necessary to advance a compelling governmental interest.  In practice, there are only a few narrow exceptions under which Congress or the states may limit free speech, such as obscenity, fighting words, and defamation.  Free speech issues often arises in the employment context, for instance when a government employee is terminated for publicly criticizing the administration of a governmental agency, and that criticism is deemed to touch upon a matter of public concern.

    The First Amendment also protects the freedom to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of greivances. Though associational rights under the First Amendment have been applied in other contexts, they are most frequently invoked in the context of political demonstrations.  Although the government may impose restrictions on the time, manner, and place of demonstrations, it may not impose content-based restrictions of any sort.  If the government makes a location available as a public forum or a limited public forum, it may not subsequently prevent political speech or protests in that location on the basis of the political message involved.

    The First Amendment's protection of religious freedom is divided between two clauses, the Free Exercise Clause and the Establishment Clause.  The Free Exercise Clause prevents the government from taking actions that interfere with the free exercise of one's religion.  Laws of general applicability that incidentally interfere with religion are typically valid, but the government must show a sufficiently compelling interest to justify a law which unduly imposes upon religion.  This is particularly so for federal laws as a result of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.  The Establishment Clause prohibits governmental actions that promote a particular religion or religion in general.  Although there is some tension between the two clauses, their combined effect is to mandate a stance towards religion that is effectively neutral.