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First Amendment Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is the First Amendment first because it is the most important?

2. If the First Amendment is important and so hot, why is it always being challenged in court – and even the Justices disagree about what it means to say?

3. To what public organizations does the First Amendment apply?

4. What exactly does the “right to know” mean?

5. Does freedom of the press extend to tape recording interviews? Sometimes I can’t write or type fast enough to accurately capture an interview. Is it legal to phone calls and interviews?

6. What are “Sunshine Laws” and the “Freedom of Information Act?”

7. My friends and I want to start a newspaper that’s not connected with a school sponsor. Are we protected from censorship?

8. I’d like to get my school involved in First Amendment issues. Where do I start?

9. Where can I find more information about First Amendment issues?

Bibliography

1. Is the First Amendment first because it is the most important?

Answer: Its ranking implies that it is the most important amendment. Certainly, in a world where personal freedoms are continually tested, this makes sense. Interestingly, though, it didn’t start out on top.

James Madison actually presented a 12-amendment Bill of Rights to Congress two years after the Constitution was signed. On that list, the current First Amendment was third, and only rose to the top of the list when the first two (one concerned Congress’ pay) and the other, were rejected. 

But it is clear that, even without the symbolic ranking of this amendment -- with its cherished five freedoms of worship, press, speech, assembly and petition – it embodies the spirit and challenge of the United States. It is the oldest expression of expressive and religious freedoms in the world and has been adopted by other nations older than the United States, note the authors of “The First Amendment in Schools” ((First Amendment Center, 2003)

“Free speech is vital to peaceful social change – it’s the first right to go when tyrants take over,” write Freedom Forum scholars in their online articles at www.freedomforum.org and www.firstamendmentschools.org.

2. If the First Amendment is important and so hot, why is it always being challenged in court – and even the Justices disagree about what it means to say?

Answer: Let’s let the late Supreme Court Justice William Brennan answer that one. He wrote that the Justices read the Constitution as twentieth-century Americans. “We look to the history of the time of framing and to the intervening history of interpretation. But the ultimate question must be: What do the words of the text mean in our time? For the genius of the constitution rests not in any static meaning it may have had in a world that is dead and gone, but in the adaptability of its great principles to cope with current problems and current needs. Our Constitution was not intended to preserve a preexisting society, but to make a new one.”

3. To what public organizations does the First Amendment apply?

Answer: It applies to all levels of government, and this includes public educational institutions. Although court cases have permitted officials to limit student rights in some cases, students are citizens and are protected by the First Amendment.

4. What exactly does the “right to know” mean?

Answer: Most authorities believe it is made up of five parts: 1.) Freedom from prior restraint, which means that no one can order a newspaper or other media outlet not to print a story. 2) Freedom from censorship just because someone doesn’t like what you write. 3) The right to collect information. 4) The right to access to the media and the materials (data, for example) necessary for collecting the information and 5) The right to distribute and make information available to all members of the public without government interference or from private groups acting outside the law.

5. Does freedom of the press extend to tape recording interviews? Sometimes I can’t write or type fast enough to accurately capture an interview. Is it legal to phone calls and interviews?

Answer: This is a good question that can’t be answered with a simple yes or no. First of all, it isn’t up to you – meaning that different states have different laws on it. Someone you interviewed could sue you or you could even be prosecuted for doing so. Thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia allow individuals – not just the press -- to record conversations that they’re involved in without informing the other parties that they are doing so. These are called "one-party consent" laws. Then again, in 12 states you need everyone to agree to the taping and in all states it’s illegal to tape a conversation you aren’t involved in.

For a great state-by-state guide on this issue and lots more information on matters involving cell phones and the like, go to the Reporters’ Committee for Freedom of the Press’s web site at www.rcfp.org/taping/index.html

6. What are “Sunshine Laws” and the “Freedom of Information Act?”

Answer: Sunshine laws are the name for rules that require government agencies – including public schools and police departments – to open their records and meetings to the public. (You, as a student or student journalist are among the public!) These laws are different in every state. Sometimes you have merely to ask for the information, but often it is more complicated.

7. My friends and I want to start a newspaper that’s not connected with a school sponsor. Are we protected from censorship?

Answer: Yes, but school authorities can tell you when, where and how you can distribute it.

8. I’d like to get my school involved in First Amendment issues. Where do I start?

Answer: At the First Amendment Center’s website, www.firstamendmentschools.org . This is a nationwide effort to get middle and high schoolers involved in modeling and teaching the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. It includes a checklist to see how your school rates on adhering to democratic principles.

9. Where can I find more information about First Amendment issues?

Answer: There are many excellent websites and books available. Here are a few:

The Student Press Law Center: www.splc.org. Help and news updates specific to student publications.

The First Amendment Center: www.firstamendmentcenter.org and www.firstamendmentschools.org for First Amendment questions, as well as valuable information about how you and your school can become more involved in learning and defending the First Amendment.

The Reporters’ Committee for Freedom of the Press: www.rcfp.org. Everything you want to know about what is going on with press freedom and who is out there working hard to defend it.

Bibliography
These websites and the following books were uses as sources for this article and other articles in this series. They contain much more useful information:
“The First Amendment Book” by Robert J. Wagman (1991)
“The First Amendment in Schools” by Charles Haynes, Sam Chaltain and others, published by the First Amendment Center (2003)
“Origins of the Bill of Rights” by Leonard Levy (1999)

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