This summer class in communications law is open to all students interested in modern debates over how best to uphold Constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion, speech, press, petition and assembly.
Although a basic understanding of US government is helpful, this class is open to all students, and pre-requisites will be waived.
Legal questions about communications turn up every day. These include:
- The NY Times v Sullivan case is the basic standard for the courts in deciding the Dominion v Fox News libel case;
- The Brandenburg v Ohio imminent lawless action standard is being used in lawsuits against former President Donald Trump over harm for Jan. 6, 2021 riot injuries;
- The responsibilities of social media companies, especially for “de-platforming,” relate to Section 230 of the Telecommunications Act;
- The strict scrutiny test for local government sign censorship was applied in the 2015 Supreme Court case Reid v Town of Gilbert should inform local governments about Greek letter censorship;
- and many more issues.
The class is taught by RU Professor Bill Kovarik who frequently writes about legal and technological issues for regional and national media.
