LibGuides: Banned Books Week 2017: Legal Issues

Databases to Research Court Cases, Censorship, and Free Speech

Opposing Viewpoints in Context This link opens in a new window
Focuses on social issues. Provides journal, magazine, and newspaper articles as well as viewpoint essays, topic overviews, and recommended web sites.
Academic Search Ultimate This link opens in a new window
Academic Search Ultimate provides multidisciplinary information from full-text articles in peer-reviewed journals, popular magazines, and newspapers. Specialized databases cover subjects such as psychology, religion, health, and political science.

"If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the Government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable." U.S. Supreme Court Justice William Brennan in Texas v. Johnson

Landmark Court Cases on Censorship & the First Amendment

The following are some of the landmark cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court that help us define the protection of the Freedom of Speech.

Schenck v. United States (1919): Freedom of speech does not protect words that create a "clear and present danger."
New York Times Company v. Sullivan (1964): The First Amendment protects the publication of all statements, including false statements, except when those statements are made with malice.
Miller v. California (1973): Obscene materials are not protected by the First Amendment, however, this case defined the test for obsenity.
Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School District No. 26 v. Pico (1982): School boards cannot restrict the availability of books in school libraries because they disagree with idea content.
Texas v. Johnson (1989): Flag burning is considered "expressive conduct" and is protected as free speech.

Read more about these cases and others through the resources on this page.

Sources: American Library Association: Notable First Amendment Cases, Oyez.org

Web Sources for Court Cases

The U.S. Supreme Court's Official Website contains opinions and argument transcripts as well as the caseload and current schedule of the court. PDF opinions are available for 1991-present.

Fi ndLaw by Thomson Reuters is a free searchable database of U.S. Supreme Court cases since 1760. Opinion summaries are available from 2000 to the present.

Justia was created to increase the availability of free legal resources for the general community. Justia contains Supreme Court cases dating back to 1759. U.S. Case Law is also available through the site.

The Legal Information Institute is maintained by Cornell Law School. It contains opinions of all Supreme Court Cases since 1992 as well as notable cases.

Oyez is a free interactive, multimedia-rich law project created by Cornell's Legal Information Institute, Chicago-Kent College of Law, and Justia.com. Oyez offers transcript-synchronized and searchable audio, case summaries, decision information, and full-text Supreme Court opinions. Audio dates back to October 1955.