LAW
FIRST AMENDMENT, FIRST PRINCIPLES
Verbal Acts and Freedom of Speech
Revised Edition
John F. Wirenius
The First Amendment, which guarantees our rights of expression, has come to epitomize the meaning of freedom in the United States. Yet as the ability to express ourselves expands into boundless opportunities with the advent of electronic media in the twenty-first century, new threats of censorship arise.
In First Amendment, First Principles, attorney John F. Wirenius explores these and other challenges to freedom of speech and examines the evolution of how the First Amendment has come to the meaning it bears today. In his bold rethinking of the concept of freedom of speech, Wirenius writes a thorough, scholarly discussion of the body of law surrounding free speech and a passionate defense of his convictions regarding the First Amendment. He reminds us that we must protect the First Amendment in order for it to protect us.
In this revised edition, the author has added a chapter that explores liability for copycat crimes: What is the media's responsibility
for violence committed in the aftermath of graphic depictions of murder and other violent acts? He also examines the laws surrounding
the exercise of free speech during wartime and cites the latest cases dealing with such subjects as pornography, hate speech, and the Internet.
" ... John Wirenius makes an intelligent and passionate case for free speech at the end of the twentieth century. His thorough review of Supreme Court decisions should provide both the expert and general reader with an excellent background for understanding current debates over pornography, the regulation of hate speech, and the governing of the Internet."
—Nadine Strossen, President ACLU
"First Amendment, First Principles: Verbal Acts and Freedom of Speech is a thoroughly researched
and persuasive argument for the defense of free speech.
—New York Law Journal
"In a work equally suitable for academics, lawyers, and lay persons, attorney Wirenius reminds us of the importance of
the First Amendment and the significance of the numerous attacks against it at the beginning of the 21st century. He begins by
examining the corruption of First Amendment doctrine by the judiciary's categorization of speech as high or low value and, thus, more or less desrving of protection.
In a comprehensive discussion, he analyzes the major First Amendment cases that have led to this state of disarray and disparate speech tests.
In response to that analysis he offers his own 'unified field theory' of the First Amendment by suggesting a 'verbal act' test similar to Justice
William O. Douglas's 'speech brigaded with action' concept. In subsequent sections he then applies that test and finds it remarkably useful in a wide variety of
contexts. For this reviewer the most outstanding portion of the work is Wirenius's defense of free speech and his reasoned criticism of those, such as Catharine McKinnon, Andrea
Dworkin, and Owen Fiss, who argue that more government control over expression is necessary. Case and subject indexes are especially helpful .... Recommended at all levels."
—Choice
"Mr. Wirenius's book examines the possible contours of a verbal act jurisprudence, which hearkens back to the notion that judges are not more fit than are the critizenry to determine
what citizens should or shout not read. He looks at the application of verbal act logic by courts—both old and new—and argues that the greatest scope of free speech is that which best suits the American
governmental system.¶ First Amendment, First Principles also addresses two of the most problematic areas in First Amendment jurisprudence: the application of free speech to new media such as the Internet,
and hate speech and pornography. The author examines the question of whether this broad protection of freedom of speech is a beneficial legal rule, in that it creates a more just society. The argument for censorship
based on the relative disparity between speech of individuals and corporations is weighed, with surprising results for corporations, whose status as 'persons' able to aim civil rights themselves is questioned. Finally,
the values and needs served by the First Amendment are assessed, in areas such as the marketplace of ideas justification, self-realization, and even the notion that the purpose of the First Amendment is for citizens to learn
tolerance from the government.
—Columbia Law School Report
"As this book demonstrates, Wirenius is a passionate defender of the values of free speech and free press, no matter whose ox is gored. He callenges freedom's enemies—from anti-pornography zealots promoting a sexist ideology to anti-corporate
liberals arguing for reallocations of speech rights in hopes of triggering reallocations of wealth—and demonstrates how the First Amendment has radically transformed traditional American social systems, eliminated or reduced old-fashioned prejudice and hatreds, and
promoted both equality and freedom together."
—Jurist
2004 • 439 pp • case and subject indexes
ISBN 0-8419-1434-6 (cloth) • $49.50
ISBN 0-8419-1435-4 (paper) • $24.95