Cases in Communication Law

About this book

Of the seventy-three cases in the fourth edition of Paul Siegels Cases in Communication Law twenty-eight are new to this edition. Among these are such Supreme Court decisions as Air Wisconsin Airlines Corporation v. Hoeper which gives those who follow the post-911 instruction if you see something say something! some special protection from libel suits; Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association which explicitly gives maximal First Amendment protection to violent video games even when sold to minors; U.S. v. Alvarez which prohibits prosecution for falsely claiming one has been awarded a Medal of Honor; and Snyder v. Phelps which gave notorious minister Fred Phelps the right to mount demonstrations with rather nasty messages at funerals. Siegel has used several criteria to select cases for inclusion in this and previous editions. He admits unabashedly that one of those criteria is the cultural significance familiarity and even celebrity of the controversies or the litigants. Just to cite a few examples this edition includes cases involving such litigants as Michael Moore Penn & Teller Joan Rivers and Madonna as well as TV programs like Family Guy CSI Law and Order and featured movies include Disturbia American Gangster American Beauty and The Hangover Part II.