New Online Resources for News, Information on First Amendment Issues, Available at www.firstamendmentcenter.org 6/24/2003
From: Gene Policinski of the First Amendment Center, 615-727-1303; e-mail: gpolicinski@fac.org web: http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org NASHVILLE, Tenn., June 24 -- A new, unique online resource for research and news on First Amendment issues, www.firstamendmentcenter.org, has been launched by the First Amendment Center. The First Amendment Center Online offers one-stop access to information on all five First Amendment freedoms, including analysis, commentary and case law. Within the main sections on free speech, free press, religious liberty, assembly and petition are a wealth of overview essays on hot-button issues now being encountered in public schools, on college campuses, in libraries and other settings across the nation. "The First Amendment Center Online is designed to be useful for students, teachers, journalists, lawyers and the public," said Ken Paulson, executive director of the First Amendment Center. "It's a new resource for anyone -- lawyer or layman -- who needs research information, has a question, or wants daily news, analysis and commentary about First Amendment issues." Among the topics on the site: -- Student dress codes -- Pledge of Allegiance -- Campus speakers -- Internet filtering -- Violence and media -- Libel -- School prayer Each topic provides Frequently Asked Questions and quickly accessible cases and resources. The site is regularly updated, augmented and expanded as new cases and issues arise. A major feature of the new site is The First Amendment Library. It is the only comprehensive online compilation of all First Amendment Supreme Court cases, some 1,300 of them, arranged by numerous topical categories. Some 125 articles were written specifically for the First Amendment Center Online, including essays by about a dozen specialists in various First Amendment topics. Expert contributors and their topics include: -- Rodney Smolla, University of Richmond Law School; freedom of speech -- Lee Levine, lawyer; freedom of press -- John Witte Jr., Emory University; religious freedom -- Bruce Johnson, lawyer; commercial speech -- David Vladeck, Georgetown University Law Center; Freedom of Information Act -- Hon. Judith S. Kaye, Chief judge, New York Court of Appeals; free press under state constitutions -- Hon. Avern L. Cohn, Senior district judge; religious displays -- Robert Justin Goldstein, Oakland University; flag-burning -- Robert Corn-Revere, lawyer; Internet and the First Amendment -- Kermit Hall, Utah State University; free speech on public college campuses -- Lori Potter, attorney; SLAPP suits -- Tony Mauro, American Lawyer Media; campaign finance -- Douglas Lee, lawyer; press topics A searchable database of current and past news stories, a useful research tool, also is available on http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org. The First Amendment Center works to preserve and protect First Amendment freedoms through information and education. The center serves as a forum for the study and exploration of free-expression issues, including freedom of speech, of the press and of religion, the right to assemble and petition the government. The First Amendment Center, with offices at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., and in Arlington, Va., is an operating program of the Freedom Forum and is associated with the Newseum, the interactive museum of news. The Freedom Forum is a nonpartisan, international foundation dedicated to free press, free speech and free spirit for all people. |