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11 Seton Hall Const. L.J. 375 (2000-2001)
Pornographic Movies, Obscene Books, Fighting Words, and Pink-Haired Students: Constitutional Freedom of Expression and Some Comparisons with Irish Constitutional Law

handle is hein.journals/shclj11 and id is 381 raw text is: CONSTITUTIONAL FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION PORNOGRAPHIC MOVIES, OBSCENE BOOKS, FIGHTING WORDS, AND PINK-HAIRED STUDENTS: CONSTITUTIONAL FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND SOME COMPARISONS WITH IRISH CONSTITUTIONAL LAW Carol Daugherty Rasnic* My dear, I don't care what they do, so long as they don't do it in the streets and frighten the horses. Beatrice Stella Tanner Campbell, Early 20th Century British actress Dame Campbell's words might well have been directed toward the liberality of American constitutional freedom of speech and expression. Perhaps even the drafters of the American Bill of Rights would cringe over the breadth of the judi- ciary's construction of this provision. Or would they concur with the latitude of protection the courts have provided with regard to freedom of expression? This first of the 27 amendments to the 1787 United States Constitution was ratified and adopted in 1791, simultaneously with those others among the first 10 amendments (collectively known as the Bill of Rights).' Its four freedoms'2 have provided the source for a geometrically increasing rise in litigation. The freedom of speech provision in particular has been noted as the most absolute in its terms among all those provisions in the constitution securing rights of the people against undue restriction by federal and state governments.3 * Professor of Employment and Labor Law, Virginia Commonwealth University, Rich- mond, Virginia U.S.A. U.S. CONST. amend. I -X. 2 The First Amendment prohibits the federal government from interfering with the peo- ple's freedom of speech, press, and religion, and the right peaceably to assemble and to redress the government for grievances. U.S. CONST. amend. I. This paper will address only freedom of speech. 3 See William Van Alstyne, FIRST AMENDMENT, CASES, AND MATERIALS 5 (2d. ed. 1995). It is significant to note that the Bill of Rights assures the people of their freedom from 2001

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