First Amendment Supreme Court Cases

Explore Supreme Court opinions and resources to learn about First Amendment case law. Whether you’re an educator looking for classroom resources, a college student trying to understand your First Amendment freedoms on campus, or generally interested in your rights, our library and FIRE’s resources are here to help. 

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Case Archive

930Cases

FREE SPEECH COALITION v. PAXTON

Whether a Texas law requiring age verification for websites publishing sexually explicit content, to prevent access by minors, violates the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech.

TIKTOK v. GARLAND

The Congressional ban on TikTok presents an unprecedented threat to First Amendment rights by singling out an entire platform as the subject of government censorship.

MOODY v. NETCHOICE

Supreme Court's ruling in Moody v. NetChoice and NetChoice v. Paxton clarifies that there’s no social media exception to the First Amendment.

MURTHY v. MISSOURI

Government officials in the Biden administration pressured and intimidated social media platforms into censoring speech that the officials didn’t like.

GONZALEZ v. TREVINO

Criminal codes are bloated and allow police to find a broad or vaguely worded law to arrest almost anyone for almost anything–including arresting their critics.

VIDAL v. ELSTER

Steve Elster applied to register a trademark saying “TRUMP TOO SMALL,” but the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejected his application because he did not receive permission from former president Trump to use his name in a trademark.

NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION v. VULLO

The NRA sued the head of New York’s Department of Financial Services alleging that she made veiled threats against banks and insurance companies to sever ties with the organization over its Second Amendment advocacy.

O'CONNOR-RATCLIFF v. GARNIER

Poway Unified School District officials used public Facebook pages to post content related to their positions, but when they deleted comments were sued for violating the First Amendment.

LINDKE v. FREED

Can public officials block users on social media accounts they use for official business? In most cases the answer is no, but there are some exceptions.

303 CREATIVE LLC v. ELENIS

In a resounding victory for freedom of expression and freedom of conscience, the Court’s opinion reaffirms decades of precedent protecting our First Amendment rights to speak and think free of government compulsion.

Supreme Court Review

Over the past few years, the Supreme Court redefined the rules by which Americans interact online. Here are some highlights from FIRE's Newsdesk.

John Stuart Mill's lasting impact on the Supreme Court

John Stuart Mill's lasting impact on the Supreme Court

So to Speak: The Free Speech PodcastEp. 222

How has 19th-century English philosopher John Stuart Mill influenced America's conception of free speech and the First Amendment?
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