Also known as:Free-Speech Clause · speech clause · First Amendment speech clause
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The constitutional command, found in the First Amendment, that prohibits the government from making any law abridging the freedom of speech or of the press. The clause protects private expression from content-based or viewpoint-based restrictions while leaving the government free to engage in its own speech without triggering scrutiny under the clause.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
6
Airport Monument Selection Dispute
The Metro Regional Airport Authority operates an outdoor Sky Plaza featuring permanent stone monuments donated by aircraft manufacturers and selected by the authority to celebrate aviation advances. Green Skies Alliance requests permission to install a permanent monument criticizing aviation's environmental impact. The authority refuses the request after reviewing the proposal. Because the existing monuments constitute government speech, the refusal does not violate the Free Speech Clause.
Town Sign Code Challenge
The Town of Gilbert maintains a sign code that classifies temporary directional signs by the content of their messages and imposes stricter size and time limits on signs directing people to religious events than on political or ideological signs. A church posts directional signs for its services that violate the code's restrictions. The church sues, claiming the code discriminates on the basis of content. The differing treatment of signs based on their messages triggers strict scrutiny under the Free Speech Clause.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Cases
Casebooks
Hornbooks
Course Outlines
Study Supplements
Reed v. Town of Gilbert, Ariz.576 U.S. 155 (2015)
Residential Sign Ordinance
The City of Ladue enacts an ordinance that bans most residential signs except for real estate signs and a few narrow categories. Resident Margaret Gilleo displays a sign in her window protesting the Persian Gulf War. City officials order her to remove the sign. The ordinance's broad prohibition on signs in a traditional medium of expression for residents triggers Free Speech Clause review because it suppresses too much protected speech.
City of Ladue v. Gilleo512 U.S. 43 (1994)
University Funding Decision
The University of Virginia collects student activity fees and distributes them to student publications through a neutral process. A student religious publication applies for funding to print its newspaper. University officials deny the request solely because the publication engages in religious speech. The denial constitutes viewpoint discrimination that violates the Free Speech Clause.
Rosenberger v. Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia515 U.S. 819 (1995)
Corporate Political Expenditure Ban
A federal statute prohibits corporations from using general treasury funds to make independent expenditures for electioneering communications within thirty days of a primary. Citizens United, a nonprofit corporation, seeks to distribute a documentary critical of a presidential candidate. The statute's ban on corporate independent expenditures triggers Free Speech Clause scrutiny because it suppresses core political speech.
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission558 U.S. 310, 352 (2010)
Public Square Display Permit
The Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board controls a public square in front of the state capitol and requires permits for displays. A private group seeks to erect a cross during the holiday season. The board denies the permit on the ground that the display would violate the Establishment Clause. The denial must still satisfy Free Speech Clause standards because the square is a traditional public forum open to private speakers.
Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board v. Pinette515 U.S. 753, 778–82 (1995)
Common questions
Frequently Asked
4
When does government speech fall outside Free Speech Clause protection?+
Government speech occurs when the government itself selects and controls the message conveyed through permanent displays or other means. Once speech is characterized as the government's own, the Free Speech Clause does not require viewpoint neutrality or compel inclusion of additional messages.
Supporting sources
How does the Free Speech Clause treat content-based sign regulations?+
A sign code is content based on its face when it defines categories of signs according to the messages they convey. Such regulations are subject to strict scrutiny under the Free Speech Clause regardless of the government's benign motive.
Supporting sources
What limits does the Free Speech Clause place on residential sign ordinances?+
An ordinance that broadly prohibits most residential signs while allowing a few narrow exceptions suppresses too much protected expression. The Free Speech Clause requires that such restrictions leave open ample alternative channels for communication.
Supporting sources
When does denial of student activity funding violate the Free Speech Clause?+
Denying funding to a student publication solely because it engages in religious speech constitutes impermissible viewpoint discrimination. The Free Speech Clause requires the government to distribute benefits neutrally among private speakers in a limited public forum.
Supporting sources
576 U.S. 155 (2015)Property
…of the Town. The Churches challenged the Sign Code in federal district court, arguing that it violated the FirstAmendment’s Free Speech Clause. The District Court denied the Churches’ motion for a preliminary injunction, and the Ninth Circuit affirmed, holding that the Sign Code was content neutral and did not warrant heightened…