A. Freedom

     In a number of decisions from 1966, the federal courts gave college journalists at tax-supported institutions First Amendment freedoms. The courts did so with a clear objective in mind: to encourage the press to a full, free and critical examination of society. However, in 2005, a circuit court in Hosty v. Carter reversed this long series of rulings, and the Supreme Court refused to review the case. The situation for high school journalists is even less encouraging since the Supreme Court decided Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier in favor of the high school administration having the right to determine content.
     Go to the reference section of a law library or use an online source and look for the volume assigned to you from the list that follows. Take notes on the judge's ruling and write a story as though the decision were made today. You may want to refer to prior decisions cited in the ruling. Do not use subsequent decisions.
     Remember that your readers are not legal experts. You also may want to provide background from your own knowledge.
     The citations are read as follows:

     Antonelli v. Hammond means Antonelli, the plaintiff, is suing Hammond, the defendant. F. Supp. is the Federal Supplement, a series of volumes that carry federal district court decisions. 308 F. Supp. 1329 (1970) refers to volume 308, page 1329 where the Antonelli case will be found. The decision was made in 1970.

College Cases

Antonelli v. Hammond, 308 F. Supp. 1329 (1970)
Bazaar v. Fortune, 476 F. 2d 570 (1973)
Brooks v. Auburn University, 412 F. 2d 1171 (1969)
Channing Club v. Board of Regents of Texas Tech University, 317 F. Supp. 688 (1970)
Dickey v. Alabama State Board of Education, 273 F. Supp. 613 (1967)
Hosty v. Carter, 412 F. 3d 731 (2005)
Joyner v. Whiting, 341 F. Supp. 1244 (1972)
Kania v. Fordham, 702 F. 2d 475 (1983)
Kincaid v. Gibson 236 F. 3d 342 (2001)
Koppell v. Levine, 317 F. Supp. 456 (1972)
Korn v. Elkins, 317 F. Supp. 138 (1970)
Leuth v. St. Clair County Community College, 732 F. Supp. 1410 (1990)
Papish v. Board of Curators of University of Missouri, 93 S. Ct. 1197 (1973)
Schiff v. Williams, 519 F. 2d 257 (1975)
Stanley v. Magrath, 719 F. 2d 279 (1983)
State Board v. Olson, 687 P. 2d (Colo. 1984)
Trujillo v. Love, 322 F. Supp. 1266 (1971)
The UMW Post v. Board of Regents, 774 F. Supp. 456 (1991)

High School Cases

Bethel School District v. Fraser, 478 U.S. 678 (1986)
Burch v. Barker, 861 F. 2d 1149 (1988)
Bystrom v. Fridley High School, 822 F. 2d 747 (1987)
Bystrom v. Fridley High School, 855 F. 2d 855 (1988)
Eisner v. Stamford Board of Education, 440 F. 2d 803 (1971)
Fraser v. Bethel School District, 403 F. 2d 1356 (1985); Bethel v. Fraser, 106 S. Ct. 3159 (1986)
Fujishima v. Board of Education, 460 F. 2d 1355 (1972)
Gambino v. Fairfax County School Board, 429 F. Supp. 731 (1977)
Kuhlmeier v. Hazelwood School District, 596 F. Supp. 14501 (1985); Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, 484 U.S. 260 (1988)
Planned Parenthood of Southern Nevada v. Clark County School District, 941 F. 2d 817 (1991)
Reineke v. Cobb County School District, 484 F. Supp. 1252 (1980)
Romano v. Harrington, 725 F. Supp. 687 (1989)
Schwartz v. Schuker, 298 F. Supp. 238 (1969)
Shanley v. Northeast Independent School District, 462 F. 2d 960 (1972)
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District, 393 U.S. 503 (1969)
Vail v. Board of Education of Portsmouth School District, 354 F. Supp. 592 (1973)

B. Sunshine

     Just what campus meetings are open to the public and press under the state's sunshine law or other freedom-of-access laws or regulations: regents and trustees; faculty; academic senate? What records are open: budget; faculty, staff and administrative salaries; student grades and assessments; campus police actions?

C. Citations

1. Find the citations in the Supreme Court for the following cases.
2. Select one and write a story as though the decision were made today.

Access

Branzburg v. Hayes
Gannett v. DePasquale
Houchins v. KQED
The Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo
Nebraska Press Association v. Stuart
Press-Enterprise v. Supreme Court of California
Student Press Law Center v. Alexander

Libel

Firestone v. Time
Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc.
Herbert v. Lando
Hutchinson v. Proxmire
The New York Times v. Sullivan
Rosenbloom v. Metromedia
Wolston v. Reader's Digest

Privacy

Time, Inc. v. Hill

Search

Zurcher v. Stanford Daily

D. Ad Policy

     Beginning in 1991, a Holocaust denial organization headed by Bradley Smith had been placing ads in college newspapers. It gave up trying to place them in commercial newspapers, but it had success with the college press. Several years ago, the Daily Aztec at San Diego State University, the Spectator at Valdosta State University in Georgia and the University Chronicle at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, among others, ran the Holocaust denial advertisements. In a recent year, 90 college newspapers accepted Smith's money to run his ads. Several returned Smith's checks.
     Some newspapers also carry liquor and tobacco ads.
     What is the policy on advertising adopted by your campus newspaper? For background on advertising policies consult the Student Press Law Center, www.splc.org.
     Has the newspaper had any complaints about its advertising, made any changes in its policies?
     Write 250 to 350 words.