4 ms·

I wonder, how powerful is the 1st amendment in the US exactly? How does it deal with situations like libel, bullying, calls to murder etc... ?

• vidarh 13y ago
  Pretty much the same as in the UK. There are plenty of exceptions to first amendment protections in the US too. UK libel law is ridiculous, though it has been reigned in somewhat, but other than that the protections are pretty similar.
  • maaku 13y ago
    Except that in the U.S. the burden of proof is on the one bringing the case of libel - they have to show that the libel was in fact a lie. Whereas in the U.K. it is the responsibility of the accused to show that they were speaking the truth. Not a minor difference, in practical reality.
• sp332 13y ago
  I know for slander, in the USA you're allowed to say pretty much anything as long as it's true. The UK has much stricter laws against defamation. (In the US, the victim might sue for damages, but that's not the same as criminal charges.)
  • chrisdevereux 13y ago
    The crime of defamatory libel (which I think is what you mean by criminal charges) was abolished in 2010[1]. AFAIK, UK libel is entirely civil law. You're right that the UK has much stricter libel laws in general, though. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defamatory_libel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defamatory_libel
  • mogrim 13y ago
    Even in the UK the truth is a valid defense against a libel case. The main difference is that the burden of proof is put on the alleged libeller, who has to prove s/he hasn't committed libel, rather than on the person who has supposedly been libelled.
    • Guvante 13y ago
      IIRC the US requires that you prove the libeller knew it was false as well. Basically if you act on good faith you are clear, even it isn't true. (Note that there are requirements that you took some measures to verify the legitimacy depending on your position).
    • polymatter 13y ago
      plus in the UK, normally the loser pays for all costs including damages making it incredibly expensive to lose.
• dhimes 13y ago
  I have a feeling we're going to find out in the next few years. Let's hope the Supreme Court shows wisdom the voters don't seem to have and that the Justices don't wimp out with very narrow decisions.
• LukeShu 13y ago
  > libel As sp332 said, you can say most anything as long as it is true. > bullying I'm not sure exactly what you mean, but... > calls to murder That would be considered "fighting words", which do not have first amendment protections.
  • SamReidHughes 13y ago
    > That would be considered "fighting words", which do not have first amendment protections. That's not true. Calls to murder are protected under the first amendment (not always by unanimous decision) and typically they are nothing near fighting words.
• diminoten 13y ago
  It's one of the things the US does correctly, at least more so than most countries. How many countries in the world would tolerate the WBC, for example?
  • pietro 13y ago
    What's the WBC?
    • greyfade 13y ago
      The Westboro Baptist Church. It's a rather infamous church in Kansas (with a small membership - about 15 or so people, all related by marriage or direct heritage) whose members go about to various places across the country to protest "gayness" and other such things. They're most infamous for picketing at a homosexual soldier's funeral, among other things, carrying signs that say things like "GOD HATES FAGS" and telling people they're going to hell. They've also apparently been barred by Canada and the UK from entry into their borders, and the more infamous Ku Klux Klan apparently also have a strong distaste for their behavior. See also, for example, godhatesfags.com and godhatesamerica.com. They're tolerated because the First Amendment explicitly permits their behavior, and they don't generally break laws. But they're almost universally reviled for their behavior and statements, and are considered a hate group by most rational people.