Free speech in the United States is not without limits. Through a series of U.S. Supreme Court cases, this article traces the development of the rules governing restrictions on speech.
In 1984, protester Gregory Lee Johnson burned an American flag during the Republican National Convention and was convicted of a crime. Beginning with Texas v. Johnson, this episode explains why political flag burning became expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment—and whether the government may impose criminal punishment simply because a political message offends the public.
Why is the Fourteenth Amendment sometimes called America's “Second Constitution”? This article traces its development from Reconstruction to the present, explaining the Privileges or Immunities, Due Process, selective incorporation, substantive due process, and Equal Protection Clauses through landmark cases including Brown, Roe, and Dobbs.
How could a manifestly defective death investigation survive layer after layer of review and nearly send two innocent people to execution? Beginning with an uncleaned silver test needle, this episode traces how a botched autopsy, torture, fabricated corroboration, and five levels of review turned prejudice into an “iron case”—and how gentry networks, newspapers, and imperial power finally reopened it.
How did “You have the right to remain silent” move from a line in police dramas to a rule officers across America must follow? Beginning with Miranda v. Arizona, this episode explains how a rape suspect with little education reached the Supreme Court, and why a confession may be excluded even without physical coercion when police fail to advise a suspect of his rights.