[20190116]IF11072_第一修正案：演讲类别.pdf

https:/crsreports.congress.gov Updated January 16, 2019The First Amendment: Categories of SpeechThe Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment prohibits the government from “abridging the freedom of speech,” but does not define what that freedom entails. The Supreme Court has long interpreted the Clause to protect against government regulation of certain core areas of “protected” speech (including some forms of expressive conduct) while giving the government greater leeway to regulate other types of speech, including a handful of limited categories that the Court has deemed largely “unprotected.” This In Focus provides a broad overview of the main categories of protected and unprotected speech in First Amendment jurisprudence. Introduction The Supreme Courts current approach to free speech is not entirely categorical. That is, just because a law implicates protected speech does not mean that law automatically violates the Free Speech Clause. Likewise, the First Amendment may still provide grounds to challenge government regulation of unprotected speech. As a threshold matter, a court may have to consider whether a law is directed at speech or conduct, and, if the latter, whether th