Book banning and censorship is appearing again in states and school districts. The history of book banning goes back as far as recorded time. Columnist Jonathan E. Collins discusses the U.S. court system's history support of the First Amendment and against censorship. He outlines the implications of the most recent book banning incidents and the…

This article examines the coverage in three Malaysian newspapers on an issue popularly known as the "Allah" issue. In 2009, the Catholic Church took the Malaysian government to court over the right to use the word "Allah". In a landmark court decision, the Church was given the right to use the word "Allah" in the…

Since its first publication in 2005, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) has distributed more than 138,000 print and online copies of its "Guide to Free Speech on Campus." In that time, FIRE's commitment to advocating on behalf of the essential rights discussed in the pages that follow has remained unwavering;…

The use of Internet filters in public classrooms in the USA has been intensely debated, both in terms of its effectiveness and legality. The debate pits concerns to protect students from indecent material against issues of unconstitutional censorship. This paper examines the legal issues addressed in various rulings by the US Supreme Court…

Glimpse of several Supreme Court Cases concerned with obscenity laws. (NH)

Incorrect access to Web site addresses and spam e-mails are continuing to make pornography rampant on the Internet at schools, homes and libraries. Collectively, parents, teachers and members of communities must become more aware of the risks and consequences of open access to the Internet, and the distinction between censorship and Internet…

Designed for the interested layman and the professional journalist, this bibliography serves as a guide to the pertinent literature on shield laws for working journalists. The collection includes a comprehensive listing of secondary sources, extracts of state laws with an indication of states currently debating the adoption of shield laws, and…

A 1973 Supreme Court decision ("Miller v. California") established the system of defining obscenity on the local level according to the following criteria: first, prurient appeal and patent offensiveness are to be determined by a community rather than by a national standard; second, sexually explicit materials are judged obscene only if…

This synthesis of current attitudes on academic freedom as defined by lower court and Supreme Court cases describes the (1) framework in which academic freedom operates, (2) powers and limitations of state legislatures and school officials in defining the curriculum and setting policy, (3) rights and limitations of teachers in making curricular…

The argument advanced in this paper maintains that cable television differs from broadcasting, due to the local character of certain cable services; that the current obscenity standards, as articulated by the Supreme Court, mandate community definitions of obscenity; and that such Supreme Court decisions apply to cable television. Separate…

This paper examines two recent attempts to enact state freedom of expression laws for public college and university students and discusses the prospects for such laws in the context of state scholastic freedom of expression laws covering high school journalists in six states. It examines the case of Kincaid v. Gibson, which decided that…

Presents a literature review considering the role of media in value making, a brief report of how the discussion of pornography has been played out in the court system, and looks at rhetoric and the political voice. Examines findings from the downloaded transcripts of Supreme Court hearing of the ACLU versus Reno case. Considers implications to…

During the last two years, New York State has made considerable progress toward opening its government to public inspection. This report discusses New York's open-records law and the creation of the Committee on Public Access to Records, a group of individuals who "interpret the law, oversee its implementation, establish procedures, and…

This article, the fifteenth chapter of a book on school law, presents a sketch of education cases for which a hearing has been granted by the Supreme Court or for which petitions are pending. Hearings have been granted to education cases in five areas: church-state relationships, Title IX, book censorship, busing, and P.L. 94-142. Regarding…

Discusses the potential of the Supreme Court's recent decision in Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, which upheld the Missouri anti-abortion statutes, to encourage state sponsored fiscal censorship in libraries. The types of library services and materials that might be affected are identified, and the First Amendment implications are…