First Amendment to the United States Constitution

The First Amendment bars Congress from establishing religion or abridging free exercise, speech, press, assembly, and petition. Through the Fourteenth Amendment, most of its protections also constrain state and local governments.

Incorporation of the Bill of Rights: The process by which the Fourteenth Amendment made most Bill of Rights protections applicable to state governments. Selective incorporation extended the First Amendment’s restrictions beyond Congress to state and local governments.
Establishment Clause: The First Amendment provision prohibiting government establishment of religion. It limits government endorsement, sponsorship, or coercive support of religion.
Marbury v. Madison: The 1803 Supreme Court decision establishing judicial review of federal legislation. Judicial review supplies the institutional means for courts to enforce constitutional limits, including the First Amendment.
Obscenity: A narrow category of sexually explicit material that the Supreme Court has held receives no First Amendment protection. Its exclusion marks one boundary on the amendment’s protection of expression.
Prior restraint in the United States: The use and constitutional review of government efforts to prevent publication before it occurs in the United States. The amendment’s strong presumption against prior restraint has shaped disputes over national security and publication.
Strict scrutiny: A demanding standard of judicial review requiring a compelling government interest and narrowly tailored means. Courts often use it to assess laws that discriminate by viewpoint or restrict protected expression.
Free Exercise Clause: The First Amendment provision protecting religious belief and, subject to limits, religious practice. It addresses government burdens on religious exercise rather than government promotion of religion.
Schenck v. United States: The 1919 Supreme Court decision upholding convictions for antiwar leaflets under the clear-and-present-danger test. It became an early, influential example of the Court weighing speech against wartime enforcement.
Defamation: A false statement of fact communicated to others that harms a person’s reputation and meets applicable legal requirements. Defamation law balances reputational interests against constitutional protections for speech.
Symbolic speech: Conduct intended to communicate a message that may receive constitutional protection as expression. The amendment can protect expressive acts, not only spoken or written words.

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