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1st Amendment and Free Speech/What Is a Reasonable "Time, Place And Manner" Restriction?

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Expert: - 10/31/2006


Question
Can the school district claim that underground paper must be put in school admin office for only 5 days then removed? Forcing kid to feel awkward to enter to get paper.

Answer
There is no specific rule on what constitutes a "reasonable" time place and manner restriction.  Basically, it is supposed to be a rule that minimally impacts on the disemination of views or ideas, but only enough to allow a legitimate interest, in this case the smooth functioning of the school without distraction.  It sounds to me like this restriction is a little unreasonable, but reasonable people (and judges) might differ on that point.

If you wish to push the issue, you might want to see if they can provide any free legal assistance or further advice:

http://www.aclu.org/contact/index.html

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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