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2008
Sept. 15
"Cinematic Liberty & the First Amendment: The Story of
the Burstyn Case (1952)
6 - 7:30 p.m.
Book: The Miracle Case: Film Censorship and the Supreme Court
(2008)
It was only a 40-minute foreign film, but it sparked a legal confrontation
that left its mark on American law and culture. Roberto Rossellini’s "Il
Miracolo" ("The Miracle") was deceptively simple: A demented peasant woman is
seduced by a stranger she believes to be Saint Joseph, is socially ostracized
for becoming pregnant out of wedlock, but is finally redeemed through
motherhood. Although initially approved by state censors for screening in New
York, the film was later attacked as sacrilegious by the Catholic establishment
(Cardinal Spellman railed against it), which convinced state officials to revoke
distributor Joseph Burstyn’s license. In response, Burstyn fought back through
the courts and won in a case that went all the way to the Supreme Court —
Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson (1952). That decision became the single
most important ruling in the jurisprudence surrounding motion-picture
expression.
Authors:
Laura Wittern-Keller and Raymond J. Haberski Jr.
Moderator:
Judge Thomas Ambro, 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Panelists:
Robert Corn-Revere, First Amendment lawyer, Davis Wright
Tremaine
Murray
Horwitz, director, American Film Institute, Silver Theatre
RSVP here.
Sept. 26
Exhibit: "Biblioclasm: The Assault on Ideas from Homer to
Harry Potter"
University of Southern California
Doheny Memorial Library,
1st Floor Treasure Room
5:30 p.m. reception
Sponsored by the USC Libraries. Please RSVP by Sept. 22 at www.usc.edu/esvp
(event code 0926) or (213) 740-1744. Light refreshments will be served, and
parking will be reserved at Gate 4, off Jefferson Blvd. For maps and directions
to campus, visit www.usc.edu/maps.
Oct. 14
"Liberty in Terrorist Times"
6 – 7:30 p.m.
Book: The Constitution
and 9/11: Recurring Threats to America’s Freedoms (2008
How has 9/11 affected our constitutional culture and its values? How has it
affected our civil liberties, including our First Amendment freedoms? In such
crises, how effective has our system of checks and balances been? How much
information can be kept secret before the idea of “open government” vanishes?
Since 9/11, how are the government’s needs for surveillance to be balanced
against the protection of our rights? What constitutional limits does the
Constitution impose on the powers of a wartime executive branch? And what does
our history tell us about such questions?
Author:
Louis Fisher,
Congressional Research Service
Moderator:
Meredith Fuchs,
general counsel, National Security Archive
Commentator:
Judge
James E. Baker, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
RSVP here.
Oct. 21
"Press Liberty: Then & Now"
6 – 7:30 p.m.
Book: Freedom of the Press: The First Amendment: Its Constitutional
History and the Contemporary Debate (2008)
The press in the United States is freer than in any other country in the
world, and virtually any in history. American courts give critics of society and
government extraordinary freedom to disseminate views that are unpopular,
subversive, even hateful. How did freedom of the press evolve over the
centuries? What values does American press freedom claim to serve today? What
challenges will this right face in the 21st century? These are some of the
important questions addressed in Garrett Epps’ new book, which also offers brief
selections from other cultures on freedom of the press. Finally, Epps likewise
examines the unprecedented challenges to a free press from a global Internet
culture.
Editor:
Garrett
Epps, University of Baltimore, School of Law
Moderator:
Lucy
Dalglish, executive director, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the
Press
Participants:
Mark Tapscott,
editorial page editor, The Examiner
(others TBA)
RSVP here.
Oct. 22
"Justice William O. Douglas & the First Amendment: A
Dialogue"
6 – 7:30 p.m.
How did Justice William O. Douglas (1898-1980) come to his absolutist views
on the First Amendment during his long tenure (1939-1975) on the Supreme Court?
Just how absolute were his views, especially in comparison to his colleagues on
the Warren Court — justices such as Hugo Black and William Brennan? What
restrictions, if any, would he allow on any of the five freedoms in the First
Amendment? These and other questions will be explored with David J. Danelski, a
noted constitutional scholar who has been working on a major biography of
Douglas for decades. He is the co-author of a leading casebook,
Constitutional Law: Civil Liberty & Individual Rights (6th ed.,
2007), and is the author of the much-acclaimed biography, A Supreme Court
Justice is Appointed (Random House, 1964).
Participants:
David J. Danelski, author of a forthcoming biography of
William O. Douglas
Ronald Collins, scholar, First Amendment Center
RSVP here.
Oct. 29
“Can Our Book Culture Survive? — A Dialogue”
6 - 7:30 p.m.
Moderator:
Shelby Coffey, senior fellow, Freedom Forum
Panelists:
Marie Arana, book editor, Washington Post Book World
Robert Weil, executive editor, W.W. Norton & Co.
RSVP here.
Nov. 3
Journalism & Justice: “The Career of Linda Greenhouse: A Dialogue”
6 - 7:30 p.m.
Introduction:
Walter Dellinger, partner, O’Melveny & Myers
Moderator:
Ronald
Collins, scholar, First Amendment Center
Panelists:
Linda Greenhouse, Knight distinguished journalist-in-residence and Joseph M. Goldstein senior fellow, Yale Law School
Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, U.S. Supreme Court, retired
RSVP here.
Nov. 12
”The Wondrous World of the First Amendment: An Encyclopedic Look”
6 - 7:30 p.m.
Book:Encyclopedia of the First Amendment (2008), editors John Vile,David L. Hudson Jr., and David Schultz.
Moderator:
Gene Policinski, vice president and executive director, First Amendment Center
Panelists
Judge Michael McConnell,
10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Robert M. O’Neil, director, Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression
RSVP here.
Nov. 6
Lecture: "Books on Fire," by Lucien X.
Polastron.
University of Southern California
University Park
Campus
Doheny Memorial Library
Intellectual Commons
5 p.m.
Sponsored by the USC Libraries. Lecture in conjunction with the exhibition
"Biblioclasm." Lucien X. Polastron discusses the persistent threats to books and
knowledge, including the recent destruction of libraries in Bosnia and Iraq.
Event URL: http://web-app.usc.edu/ws/eo2/calendar/32/event/866549. Contact:
gaskill@usc.edu, 213/740-2070.
Topics of Our Times: First Amendment Center Events
Knight
Conference Center at the Newseum, 8th Floor (6th Street entrance, Rooms
802-806)
The First Amendment Center, in conjunction with the Newseum,
hosts a series of First Amendment-related evening events, including book events.
Many of the most timely and controversial topics of our times are discussed by
some of the leading authorities in the nation. New and forthcoming books will
also be profiled.
Join us for rich conversation conducted at a unique forum.
RSVP here.
TOPICS OF OUR TIMES: FALL SERIES
Sept. 4
"Free-Press vs. Fair Trial: The Stories Behind a Landmark
Case"
6 - 7:30 p.m.
Book: Rights in Balance: Free Press, Fair Trial, & Nebraska Press
Association v. Stuart (2008)
Rights in the Balance is the story of the complex legal battles set in
motion one tragic night on the western Nebraska plains. In juxtaposition to the
criminal prosecution of Erwin Simants, Mark Scherer traces the Nebraska Press
Association’s battle to overturn a gag order imposed on the news media by state
court judges. Prohibited from publishing certain details about the crimes and
the Simants prosecution, the association set its own arduous legal course that
would lead ultimately to the U.S. Supreme Court and the landmark ruling in
Nebraska Press Association v. Stuart. The decision, one of the most
closely followed in American constitutional history, remains one of the high
court’s most significant statements and controlling precedents on the
troublesome and recurring conflict between the rights of free press and fair
trial. Balancing the nuances of myriad legal considerations against the very
human dimensions of both the constitutional litigations and the Simants
prosecution, Scherer offers up a narrative accessible not only to communications
and legal specialists and scholars but also the interested general public.
Author:
Mark
R. Scherer, professor of history, University of Nebraska, Omaha
Moderator:
Ronald
Collins, scholar, First Amendment Center
Commentator:
Floyd
Abrams, First Amendment lawyer, Cahill Gordon & Reindel
RSVP here.
Sept. 9
“Same-Sex Marriage and Religious Liberty”
6 - 7:30 p.m.
Book: Same-Sex Marriage and Religious Liberty: Emerging Conflicts, by
Anthony R.
Picarello, general counsel, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops,
and Douglas
Laycock, Alice McKean Young Regents Chair emeritus professor of law,
University of Michigan
What kind of religious freedom conflicts are likely to emerge if society
embraces same-sex marriage? A redefinition of marriage would affect a host of
laws involving marital status and legal rights. These laws, in turn, regulate a
host of religious institutions. When, if ever, should claims of religious
liberty prevail over claims of sexual liberty?
Moderator:
Kevin “Seamus”
Hasson, founder & chairman, Becket Fund for Religious Liberty
Panelists:
Chai
Feldblum, professor of law, Georgetown University
Douglas
Laycock, Alice McKean Young Regents Chair emeritus professor of law,
University of Michigan
Jonathan Turley,
professor of law, George Washington Law Center
Robin Wilson,
professor of law, Washington & Lee University
RSVP here.
Aug. 15 – Dec. 31
"Banned and recovered: Artists respond to censorship"
An exhibition at
two venues
More than 60 artists interpret banned or challenged books in their chosen
medium in response to the suppression of literary art.
Exhibit: San
Francisco Center for the Book, Aug. 15-Nov. 26, 2008
300 De Haro St.
San
Francisco, CA 94131
Gallery hours Mon.-Fri., 10-5; Sat. 12-4
Public
reception: Fri., Aug.15, 6-8 p.m.
Exhibit: African American Museum and Library at Oakland, Sep. 5-Dec.
31
659 14th St.
Oakland, CA 94612
Gallery hours Tues.-Sat.,
12-5:30
Public reception: Fri., Sep. 5, 6-8 p.m.
www.sfcb.org