First Amendment Rights Under the Trump Administration

This class, presented by Daniel Kornstein, an attorney at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady, will provide an overview of the main issues and controversies of “First Amendment Rights Under the Trump Administration.”

The theme will be the current importance of value pluralism in today’s First Amendment context. The program will focus on how to reconcile First Amendment values with other competing values. Topics to be covered include, among others: hate speech; campaign finance; religious, moral, or artistic objections to certain behavior; Internet neutrality; offensive speakers on campus; non-disclosure agreements in sexual harassment settlement, and trademarking ethnic and racial slurs.

Special attention will be paid to the impact of the Trump Administration on basic First Amendment theory as a result of: presidential threats to and criticism of the media; repeated use of “alternate facts”; references to “fake news”; “opening up” libel law so newspapers can be sued more easily; frequent presidential use of Twitter and blocking of followers; and censorship of administrative agency language. The program will explore whether the premise of the First Amendment is being changed, and the role of truth in each of the aforementioned circumstances.

Learning Objectives:

1. Gain an overview of current First Amendment controversies, the values at stake, and potential threats posed to our system of freedom of expression
2. Identify in each instance the precise values competing with the First Amendment and their relative importance
3. Recognize that the First Amendment is not always absolute and that there is a need, when called for, to balance the First Amendment with other competing values and sometimes even competing First Amendment values
4. Analyze the potential impact of the Trump Administration on freedom of expression