Also known as: speeches · free speech · expression
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Expression or communication, the abridgment of which by Congress is prohibited by the First Amendment. The term encompasses spoken words, writings, and other forms of conveying ideas that receive constitutional protection against government restriction.
Selena Singh addresses a crowd criticizing federal policy on immigration. Local police threaten arrest under a local ordinance banning such gatherings. The court finds the ordinance invalid because it targets protected expression.
Judge Simone Sanders speaks at a fundraiser for a political organization advocating judicial reform. The judicial conduct commission investigates whether the address violates rules limiting political activity. The inquiry centers on whether the speech constitutes prohibited conduct.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Attorney Sabrina Shah sends a small thank-you gift to a colleague who referred a client. The gift is modest and carries no expectation of further referrals. The ethics board reviews whether the gesture qualifies as permissible appreciation rather than improper compensation.
Steven Silva and Sydney Santos sign a detailed purchase agreement for equipment. Earlier oral discussions about delivery dates do not appear in the document. A court treats the writing as the final expression and bars evidence of the prior statements.
Sean Steele conveys land to a buyer while allowing continued access across his retained parcel. No writing mentions an easement, yet the parties' actions show an intent to create one. A court recognizes the servitude based on the implied expression of consent.
Sentinel Security and Silverline Industries exchange signed purchase orders for software. A prior phone conversation about warranty terms is omitted from the writings. The court refuses to consider the oral statements as contradicting the final record.
The First Amendment prohibits Congress from abridging freedom of speech. Courts have carved out narrow categories such as true threats, incitement, and obscenity that receive no protection. Most expression, including political criticism and artistic works, remains shielded from government restriction.
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Model Rule 4.1(A)(2) bars a judge or candidate from making speeches on behalf of a political organization. The prohibition applies even if the judge claims the remarks were personal. Violation can lead to disciplinary sanctions regardless of the speech's content.
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Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 209(3) provides that a writing reasonably appearing complete is presumed integrated. Prior oral agreements may not contradict the writing. Evidence of consistent additional terms may still be admitted to explain or supplement the document.
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…ethics" and "was applauded as the embodiment of truth." Thus, suggests Dr. Edelstein, it is "a Pythagorean manifesto and not the expression of an absolute standard of medical conduct."[^maj-19] This, it seems to us, is a satisfactory and acceptable explanation of the Hippocratic Oath's apparent rigidity. It enables us to…