Topic
First Amendment & Free Speech
The boundaries of expression in America — from campus speech and social media regulation to press freedom, hate speech, and religious liberty.
22 courses · 25 briefs
The First Amendment sits at the center of some of the most contested legal and cultural questions of our time. As speech moves online, courts face new challenges applying centuries-old doctrine to social media platforms, algorithmic content moderation, and the blurring line between private and public censorship.
These courses and briefs examine First Amendment law across its full range — from foundational doctrines on government speech restrictions to contemporary debates over hate speech, campus expression, press freedom, religious exemptions, and the legal status of content moderation by technology companies.
Courses
22 on-demand CLE courses on this topic
59:58The Power of the Party
58:18Policing the Police
64:07Press Freedom vs. Privacy
58:24Hate Speech and the First Amendment
56:59When Religious Freedom Harms Children
1:06:00Inside Counsel at Scale
1:12:10The AI Threat to Privacy
1:34:07Defending Words
1:30:42Scroll Control
1:04:51Confronting the Disinformation Engine
1:30:26Trump Trials – A Survey in Legal Ethics
1:03:46Police Commands & Police Coercion
54 minFree Speech on the Law School Campus
1:06:33God & Football after Bremerton
29:54Free Speech vs Hate Speech on Campus
31:47#MeToo Challenges in the Legal Profession
30:17Lawyers with Bias
30:29Cyberbullying and the First Amendment
32:43#TrumpTweets - Redefining Presidential Twitter
30:59Cruelty on the Farm - Food Safety and Animal Welfare
31:16Lawyer Ads Gone Wrong
30:33From Facebook to Tinder: The Ethics of Social Media
Briefs
25 legal briefs on this topic
2:13POLITICALLIESLEGAL?
Can politicians lie about their opponents?
Prof. Barbara McQuade · Michigan Law
Why defamation's "actual malice" standard is the main legal limit on lies in political campaigns
15:37737 views1ST v. 2NDAMENDMENT
1st v. 2nd: What Happens When Amendments Collide?
Prof. Joseph Blocher · Duke Law School
Is carrying a gun speech? Can protests be gun-free? How courts handle clashes between speech and gun rights.
11:071.5K viewsWHICHWEAPONS AREPROTECTED?
What Weapons Get 2nd Amendment Protection?
Prof. Jake Charles · Pepperdine Caruso Law
Common use, "dangerous and unusual," stun guns, and the open question of AR-15s under the Second Amendment.
11:0574K viewsFELONGUN BANS:LEGAL?
Are Felon Gun Bans Constitutional?
Prof. Jake Charles · Pepperdine Caruso Law
Civic virtue or dangerousness? How courts weigh lifetime gun bans for people with felony records after Bruen
7:373.8K viewsMUST YOUOBEYPOLICE?
Do you have to comply with police orders?
Prof. Rachel Harmon · UVA Law
Unlawful orders, the right to resist, and why 'comply now, complain later' often leaves no way to complain.
6:21SOCIAL MEDIAAS COMMONCARRIERS?
Social Media as "Common Carrier?"
Prof. Eric Goldman · Santa Clara Law
Can states force Facebook or YouTube to carry everyone? Common carriage and must-carry laws after Moody.
7:243.3K viewsTHELEMONTEST
The Lemon Test Explained
Prof. Sarah Barringer Gordon · Penn Carey Law
What Lemon v. Kurtzman required, why it fell out of favor, and where it stands after Kennedy v. Bremerton.
7:333.5K viewsTEXT,HISTORY &TRADITION
Text, History, & Tradition Test
Prof. Joseph Blocher · Duke Law School
How Bruen replaced the two-part framework for gun laws, and why history can be hard to apply
12:4520K viewsNYSRPA v.BRUEN
NYSRPA v. Bruen
Prof. Jake Charles · Pepperdine Caruso Law
How the Supreme Court recognized a right to carry in public and replaced balancing with a history test
6:06FTCUNFAIRNESSTEST
FTC Act Section 5 Unfairness Balancing Test
Prof. Neil Richards · WashU Law
Why a leading privacy scholar argues the FTC's unfairness test lets substantial consumer harm slip through.
6:504.2K viewsCAN YOURECORDPOLICE?
Can you record the police?
Prof. Rachel Harmon · UVA Law
The First Amendment right to film police, and when officers can limit it at crime scenes, stops, and arrests.
0:525.7K viewsARRESTEDFOR THEFINGER?
Can you be arrested for giving the finger to police?
Prof. Rachel Harmon · UVA Law
Why the First Amendment protects rude gestures and harsh words aimed at police officers
3:48507 viewsUNAPPROVEDCOVIDDRUGS
"Compassionate Use" and the Law on Unapproved COVID-19 Drugs
Prof. I. Glenn Cohen · Harvard Law School
How FDA expanded access, Right to Try laws, and off-label prescribing govern unproven treatments.
3:461K viewsCan the President Overturn States' Quarantine Orders?
Prof. I. Glenn Cohen · Harvard Law School
Harvard's Glenn Cohen on federal versus state power over shutdowns, quarantines, and public health orders.
2:52815 viewsSUED FORAN EMOJI?
Can You Be Liable for the Emojis You Use?
Prof. Eric Goldman · Santa Clara Law
Courts read emojis together with words, so a gun emoji or a thumbs-up can carry real legal consequences.
2:572.7K viewsTHEHECKLER'SVETO
Do You Have a Heckler's Veto Right?
Prof. Nadine Strossen · New York Law School
Why shouting down a speaker you oppose undermines free speech, and how the heckler's veto doctrine began.
3:4631K viewsA RIGHT TOSOCIALMEDIA?
A First Amendment Right to Social Media?
Nadine Strossen · New York Law School
Why there is no constitutional right to stay on Facebook or X, and why platform access still matters
4:042.5K viewsBANNINGHATE SPEECHON CAMPUS?
Can universities ban hate speech on campus?
Lee Rowland · Natl. Coalition Against Censorship
Why public universities cannot ban offensive speech, and where harassment law draws the line on campus.
3:131.5K viewsATHLETESTAKINGA KNEE
Do student athletes have a right to "take a knee?"
Lee Rowland · Natl. Coalition Against Censorship
Can a public school punish a student athlete for kneeling during the anthem? The First Amendment answer.
3:381.9K viewsYOURRIGHT TOPROTEST
What are your rights to protest in public?
Lee Rowland · Natl. Coalition Against Censorship
Streets, sidewalks, and parks: when you need a permit to protest and what counts as unlawful obstruction.
2:212.5K viewsFIREDFOR YOURSPEECH?
Can you be fired for speech outside the office?
Lee Rowland · Natl. Coalition Against Censorship
Why the First Amendment does not stop a private employer from firing you for what you say on your own time.
4:598.2K viewsSPEECHORINCITEMENT?
What counts as “incitement” under the First Amendment?
Lee Rowland · Natl. Coalition Against Censorship
How Brandenburg and Claiborne Hardware set a high bar before speech can be punished as incitement
3:4915K viewsRIGHT TORECORDPOLICE?
Is There a Right to Record the Police?
Prof. Jocelyn Simonson · Brooklyn Law School
Most federal appeals courts now protect filming police in public, but buffer laws and immunity still matter.
3:14705 viewsVOTERINTIMIDATION
What is voter intimidation?
Suraj Patel · Attorney
Threats at the polls, armed officials, and lies about when to vote: what counts as voter intimidation.
1:48THE CRIMEOF THEBALLOT SELFIE
The "crime" of the ballot selfie!?
Suraj Patel · Attorney
Is it illegal to take a selfie with your ballot? Why some states ban ballot photos and how courts responded.
Explore More Legal Topics
Every course, every credit category, no per-course fees — all for $249/year. Or try your first course free.