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1st Amendment and Free Speech/First Amendment violations during wartime

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Expert: - 10/17/2006


Question
What have been some of the most blatant violations of our First Amendment rights during wartime? And what restrictions do you feel are permissable or impermissable?

Answer
During the Civil War, many people, including newspaper editors and politicians were imprisoned simply for opposing the war or Republican policies.  Many of them were imprisoned without charges or trial.  During WWI, again many people who simply offered loyal opposition to war policies were tried and convicted of various crimes.

Personally, I am very uncomfortable with any particular wartime restrictions on free speech.  They say in war, truth is the first casualty.  A free and open debate is critical to prevent despotism, which is especially a danger when people feel threatened by an outside enemy.

Certainly it is approrpriate to prevent people from passing along information to the enemy that would endanger the State, but much beyond that, I really don't like to see any restrictions.

I hope this helps!
- Mike  

1st Amendment and Free Speech

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Michael Troy

Expertise

I will answer general questions regarding freedom of speech, petition, or religion. I specialize in cases involving public employment or education, as well as issues related to campaign finance. But I can`t give specific legal advice involving specific cases you might have.

Experience

As an attorney for the Center for Individual Rights, I worked on a number of free speech cases, including Rosenberger v. Univ. of Virginia, in which the Supreme Court upheld my clients' right to run a student newspaper without discrimination because of its religious conent. I also worked on White v. Julian, which protected the right of people to protest against a homeless shelter in their neighborhood.

I also worked for the Federal Election Commission on several cases regarding the right to participate in the election process.

Organizations
Former Attorney for Center for Individual Rights.

Publications
Washington Post
Washington Times

Education/Credentials
J.D. from Univ. of Michigan Law School

Awards and Honors
Truman Scholar

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