The First Amendment: Protest v. Privacy - The Case of "Snyder v. Phelps" CLE

The First Amendment: Protest v. Privacy - The Case of "Snyder v. Phelps"

March 2011

The First Amendment: Protest v. Privacy - The Case of Snyder v. Phelps - LIVE IN DENVER

Program Description:

On March 2, 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an 8-1 decision in this widely publicized case. The issue in general: whether the First Amendment protects protesters at a private, military funeral from tort liability. Join us for an interesting discussion by Professor Richard B. Collins on what has become one of the most heated debates on First Amendment rights this Session.

The Opinion:

Chief Justice Roberts, in the Court's Opinion:

Speech is powerful. It can stir people to action, move them to tears of both joy and sorrow, and-as it did here-inflict great pain. On the facts before us, we cannot react to that pain by punishing the speaker. As a Nation, we have chosen a different course - to protect even hurtful speech on public issues to ensure that we do not stifle public debate.

Justice Breyer, concurring:

While I agree with the Court's conclusion that the picketing addressed matters of public concern, I do not believe that our First Amendment analysis can stop at that point. A State can sometimes regulate picketing, even picketing on matters of public concern.

Justice Alito, dissenting:

Our profound national commitment to free and open debate is not a license for the vicious verbal assault that occurred in this case. … (“[P]ersonal abuse is not in any proper sense communication of information or opinion safeguarded by the Constitution”). When grave injury is intentionally inflicted by means of an attack like the one at issue here, the First Amendment should not interfere with recovery.

Presented by Richard B. Collins, Professor of Law, University of Colorado Law School

Agenda:

8:00 am - 8:30 am Registration

8:30 am - 9:30 am Program (Continental Breakfast Provided)

Faculty:

Richard B. Collins

Professor of Law

University of Colorado Law School

Richard Collins spent 15 years practicing Indian law with organizations such as California Rural Legal Assistance, California Indian Legal Services, Dinebeiina Nahiilna Be Agaditahe in Window Rock, Arizona, and the Native American Rights Fund (NARF). Since joining the faculty, Professor Collins has continued work as a pro bono consultant to NARF and to Native American tribes, including the Southern Ute Indian Tribe. During the course of his appellate work, he has had a major role in several important Indian law decisions, including United States Supreme Court decisions such as McClanahan v. Arizona Tax Commission, 421 U.S. 164 (1973). His scholarship also focuses on constitutional issues, and he was Director of the law school's Byron R. White Center for the Study of American Constitutional Law from 2002 to 2010. Professor Collins has written and lectured on such topics as the religion clauses and their relationship to Indian Tribes, the Commerce Clause, and ballot initiatives and referendums. His recent research projects include a treatise on the Colorado Constitution, written with Dale Oesterle, an article on sacred sites on government lands in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, the current revision of Felix Cohen's Handbook of Federal Indian Law, and an article in the Colorado Law Review on lawmaking by citizens' initiatives. Professor Collins received his B.A. from Yale University in 1960, and an LL.B. from Harvard Law School in 1966.