NCJ Number
151755
Journal
ABA Journal Volume: 80 Dated: (September 1994) Pages: 44-46
Date Published
1994
Length
3 pages
Annotation
Three of the five United States Supreme Court decisions on First Amendment issues in its past term demonstrate the potential for conflict between the goals of achieving a correct outcome consistent with the facts and stating a clear doctrine that can be specified in future cases.
Abstract
City of Ladue v. Gilleo unanimously struck down an ordinance in Ladue, Mo., that barred the display of all home signs, with 10 specific exceptions. In Ibanez v. Florida Board of Accountancy, the Court ruled that a Florida attorney may advertise that she is also a certified public accountant and a certified financial planner. However, in the First Amendment cases concerning cable television operators, abortion protesters, and public employees, the justices disagreed sharply, sometimes announcing new shadings or categories of First Amendment law. Content neutrality was a major point of contention in both the cable television case, Turner Broadcasting System v. FCC, and the abortion protest case, Madsen v. Women's Health Center, Inc. The justices did not produce a majority opinion in Waters v. Churchill, which arose out of a claim by a nurse at a public hospital that she was fired in retaliation for criticizing management, statements she contended should be constitutionally protected. Photograph