Limited Protection Of The First Amendment example essay topic

Before this case occurred there were certain laws already in place that prohibited obscenity over radio. One of these laws was the "law of nuisance". This law "generally speaks to channeling behavior more than actually prohibiting it". (Simones, 1995) The law in essence meant that certain words depicting a sexual nature were limited to certain times of the day when children would not likely be exposed. Broadcasters were trusted to regulate themselves and what they broadcast over the airwaves.

There were no specific laws or surveillance by regulatory groups to assure that indecent and obscene material would not be broadcast. Therefore, when the case of the FCC vs. Pacifica made its way to the Supreme Court it was a dangerous decision for the Supreme Court to make. Could the government regulate the freedom of speech? That was the ultimate question. Carlin's monologue was speech according to the first amendment. (Simones, 1995) Because of this Pacifica argued that "the first amendment prohibits all governmental regulation that depends on the content of speech".

(Gunther, 1991) "However there is no such absolute rule mandated by the constitution", according to the Supreme Court. (Gunther, 1991) Therefore the question is "whether a broadcast of patently offensive words dealing with sex and excretion may be regulated because of its content. The fact that society may find speech offensive is not a sufficient reason for suppressing it". (Gunther, 1991) The Supreme Court deemed that these words offend for the same reasons that obscenity offends. They also state that "these words, even though they had no literary meaning or value, were still protected by the first amendment". (Gunther, 1991) So what does this mean to the American public?

This decision gave government the power to regulate, whereas it did not before. Broadcasting, out of all forms of communication, has received the most limited protection of the first amendment. There are two main reasons why. First, "the broadcast media have established a uniquely pervasive presence in the lives of all Americans". (Gunther, 1991) Airwaves not only confront the public but also the citizen.

They can come into our homes uninvited or, you never know what to expect when they are invited in. In this case the Court decided that "because the broadcast audience is constantly tuning in and out, prior warnings cannot completely protect the listener or viewer from unexpected program content". (Gunther, 1991) So here's the simple solution, turn off the radio. How hard can that be? It's not too difficult but the Supreme Court decided "to say that one may avoid further offense by turning off the radio... is like saying that the remedy for assault is run away after the first blow". (Gunther, 1991.