Billed as a biography of the first amendment, the book is really a riff on some of the major themes and cases that have defined freedom of speech. Surprising that the first amendment wasn't really enshrined in American jurisprudence as we know it until the mid 20th century and later.
The first amendment had not been the absolute guarantor of free speech until the supreme court began definite it so, especially under justices Holmes, Brandeis, Frankfurt, Black. It was Homes who formulated the "clear and present danger" clause that has blocked so much espionage and sedition legislation and who also formulated the phrase "freedom for the though we hate." It has been judicial activism--coupled with the 14th amendment--that has enshrined the First Amendment, especially in cases like Near vs. Minnesota in 1927 and NY Times vs. Sullivan in 1964 that defined the standards of libel and public figure.
But Lewis is not an absolutist for the first amendment. In particular, he believes in limits when free speech impinges on the right to privacy for non public figures, and in some cases of protecting a report's sources when national security and clear public interest in involved, especially in present days when so many people claim to be journalists for electronic publications. "For one thing, it is plainly wrong to quote anonymous sources in pejorative comments on individuals." Lewis also has trouble with the supreme court's decisions on campaign finance, using the first amendment as a way of allowing unlimited campaign contributions that have made elections so expensive.
Author: Lewis, Anthony
Date Published: 2007
Length: 5hr 49min
Narrator: Lovejoy, Stow
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