Essay On First Amendment

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What comes to your mind when you think about the First Amendment? What do you think the definition of 1st Amendment means? The first amendment includes the right to include freedom of assembly, press, religion, and speech. All around the world, there have been several cases involving the first amendment. While there are different amendments, this one is the most common amendment that gets taken to court daily. There are multiple cases that are served by combining the First Amendment and the Supreme Court. One of these cases includes United States v. O’Brien Case, which was argued on January 24,1968. David Paul O’Brien and three other witnesses were accused of burning their registration certificates for the Selective Service. The act they …show more content…

O’Brien finally appealed, along the way. He claims that his actions were all covered under the 1st Amendment’s right to free speech. The two parties; O’Brien was convicted as the defendant and the Prosecutor were considered the plaintiff. They argued about how free speech had nothing to do with it and how it was about government records. The prosecutor made some good points on how is not considered a speech while burning the draft card. O’Brien was making a statement and made a protest on his beliefs. There is a federal law for destroying or forging the “draft card” during war. The conflict between these two parties, were considering what the free speech is acknowledging. Later on, the prosecutor appealed and transferred to a different court. The Appellate Court finalized the conviction, while reversing and overturning the case. O’Brien got out of jail early, while the court decided that the law did not violate the 1st Amendment because of it’s effect on the speech convicting it was “accidental”. On May 27,1968 they reversed and overturned the case. The rulings were particularly favored by the Warren Court. There was an 7-1 decision for United States majority opinion decided by Earl Warren. This decision corresponds with an precedent within its jurisdiction. The court’s decisions impacts the congress’s powers to raise and support armies. Their reasoning for ruling the

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