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Hate Speech and the First Amendment: Where Are the Boundaries?
Produced on June 18, 2020
Course Information
Course Description
Now more than ever, it is important to know where the boundary lies between constitutionally protected expression and unprotected “hate speech.” In this course, Ameer Benno, a civil rights and constitutional law attorney, examines First Amendment case law, explains where the lines are drawn, and identifies the constitutional issues animating current debates over protected speech.
Learning Objectives:
- Examine the hate speech exception to First Amendment protections, learn about the seminal jurisprudence on this issue, and recognize what issues remain unsettled
- Review what “fighting words” are and how we identify them
- Familiarize with what constitutes an unprotected “true threat”
- Gain insight into what falls into the unprotected category of defamation and libel
Credit Information
Faculty
Ameer Benno
Benno & Associates P.C.
Mr. Benno is an appellate and constitutional law attorney.
He began his legal career as an Assistant District Attorney at the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, where he served in both the trial division and the appeals bureau. Upon leaving government service, Mr. Benno worked at a premier civil litigation law firm where he focused on civil rights matters in both state and federal courts. In 2009, Mr. Benno opened his own law practice.
Mr. Benno is admitted to the New York and Connecticut state bars, and is admitted to practice in the federal courts of the Southern, Eastern, Northern, and Western Districts of New York as well as the United States Courts of Appeal for the Second and Third Circuit. He is also admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court.
From 2006 through 2012, Mr. Benno was an adjunct professor at New York Law School, where he taught Appellate Advocacy and Legal Reasoning and Writing. Mr. Benno regularly lectures for bar associations and continuing legal education providers on topics having to do with constitutional law, appellate advocacy, and trial practice.
Mr. Benno has been selected for inclusion in New York Super Lawyers for the last 8 years in the areas of First Amendment and civil rights law.
Mr. Benno received his B.A. degree with honors from Johns Hopkins University, and his law degree from Cornell Law School.
You can reach Mr. Benno at abenno@ameerbenno.com or at (212) 227-9300. Follow him across social media at @AmeerBenno.
In addition to his membership in professional organizations, Mr. Benno is a civic leader. He is the president of the Merrick-Bellmore Jewish Community Council, the board of directors of the Merrick Jewish Centre, and as a member of the Nassau County Police Commissioner's Community Council for the 19th Legislative District. He is a member of the Nassau County Police Reserves, the Bellmore Kiwanis, the Bellmore Lions Club, and the Bellmore Historical Society. He proudly serves as a First Lieutenant in the JAG Corps of the New York Guard.
Ameer is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University and Cornell Law School. He lives in Bellmore, NY with his wife, Gayle, and three daughters.
Reviews
Good refresher....
excellent and could not be more timely
Informative and would recommend. Relevant today more than ever.
EXCELLENT!!
an update based on recent events would be interesting
Excellent review of free speech laws, way better than expected...thought this would be a lot of PC junk, there was none of that
Helpful information
Interesting topic, great speaker!
Very good succinct presentation of the history of the law, specifically cases, that have shown the development of the Supreme Court's position on hate speech.
Good presentation
Excellent presentation
One of the best courses I have taken on Lawline. Faulty was outstanding in his presentation.
Excellent presentation. Material was spot on relevant to what is happening in our country today. I think this was by far the best presentation that I have listened to this reporting cycle.
He is a great speaker.
Outstanding
Excellent review of free speech, and great delivery.
Enjoyed the 1st Amendment rand view/update. Good presenter.
Great class!!
I enjoyed the presenter's pleasant, conversational style. Thanks!
First rate. Highly informative and skillfully organized.
Terrific course... would highly recommend.
the faculty was clear and efficient in describing the background First Amendment law, but spent little time assessing hate speech under that law, which was the title of the program
Very good speaker. Really enjoyed it, wish it went longer.
Very good presentation. Well organized and thorough.
This updated my knowledge with more recent cases and refined my understanding of protected speech doctrine, and its contradictions.
Well prepared and documented. Very good speaker and topic in light of current events
Well presented and interesting course.
Please recommend that presenters use microphones during the recording of the program.
This is an excellent course. I highly recommend it!
Excellent summary of the law.
Very good review. Thank you.
interesting and very well presented.
Great presentation. Authentic and knowledgeable speaker. Good balance of context and detail.
Really great summary of caselaw. Well done
Good survey
Great discussion by well organized and knowledgeable speaker.
Engaging Speaker
Excellent! Very informative!
Excellent speaker and great overview of jurisprudence.
Great summary of these cases.
Excellent discussion!
Good job. Cases presented were mostly foundational. Would be great to expand on additional recent First Amendment challenges.
very good review of 1st amendment issues in light of today's societal turmoil.
Excellent overview on an area of law which seems to be more relevant again today. Covered many cases.
Great program- clear and varied presentation...held my interest
Very timely and poignant.
One of the better courses
Great course, knowledgeable faculty!
Excellent lecture
Best speaker and most interesting program so far! I wish they were all so good.
Any course he gives, and Erica Dubno, are worth following.
Clear, tight presentation.
Good presentation
Excellentl,
Excellent program to refresh one's legal knowledge of this constitutional law issue and very timely in today's client of extreme political and racial unrest.
Clear, informative, kept my attention and interest from beginning to end.
Well done!
speaker was great and well informed well worth the time
Excellent
Extremely well done rapid fire primer on an important aspect of the 1st Amendment. Especially in the current polarized national political environment.
very well done!
His presentation was very organized and he was very knowledgeable.
very relevant topic
Excellent Presentation! Speaker extremely interesting and knowledgeable! Information very helpful! Look forward to taking more courses on this topic from this speaker! Great program! Highly recommend watching!
Very good speaker.
The presenter did an excellent job of presenting, given the time constraints, the information and analysis about the freedom of speech clause set forth in the 1st Amendment. Thank you.
Excellent lecturer. Crisp and clear.
Please tell the instructor that this was one of the most enjoyable and professional CLE presentations that I have seen.
Excellent review.
Presenter was engaging. Pleasure to listen to a discussion of a timely topic, rather than a reading of slides. Encouraged participant to think about the material and reach own conclusions about current political issues. Thank you.
Very timely and interesting program.
this was one of the better programs i have taken
one of the best lawline lectures I've taken, excellent knowledgeable speaker. would have liked some more current cases but there was no time for it. Recommend having him do a Part II.
Liked the speaker and enjoyed the course.
Great Constitutional law refresher course particularly given current times. Great choice of cases and parallels to current times. Excellent course and presentation.
VERY WELL PRESENTED AND TIMELY
Entertaining hour of CLE. .Today's social customs consider many forms of free speech as undesirable. ALL free speech s/b protected..
Presenter was one of your best. Very good.
Very good
Well done
Good overview and pictures and newspaper articles a nice touch
Great Job! Very informative.
I felt like I was in Con Law again! Great review and helped put all these cases in modern perspective. thanks.
Great
First rate all the way.
One of the best presentations I’ve seen in years. Perfectly coherent and organized. Great job!
Great info on the 1st Amendment!
Best presenter so far!
Very interesting and well presented.
Very good explanation of the major issues.
Very interesting and well delivered
Very enjoyable.
Excellent course.
Excellent course. The hour flew by, which is not always the case.
Good course!
excellent slides
Wonderful CLE - very interesting!
super interesting
Good course
Great relevant content!
Excellent presentation
Excellent presentation.
Liked the instructor a lot.
Outstanding presentation. Concise, informative, knowledgeable, well-delivered. Good job Mr. Benno!
Very informative, thank you!
Very well done!
Excellent content. Relevant. Informative.
This presentation was exceptional and timely.
Very interesting topic, good speaker
Lawline's most impressive presented.
Very good speaker and materials
Best CLE ever. Many thanks. kah
Very good!
Very good
Excellent, comprehensive overview of the subject matter. First-rate presentation.
Well done
This CLE was excellent - one of the best I have ever taken. It is completely on point for the current atmosphere in the country and a critically important review of the fundamental importance to have public discourse, even when it feels messy, chaotic and offensive. I live by UC Berkeley and as a lawyer with a strong interest in constitutional law, I'm amazed and dismayed to see banners all over some campuses encouraging students to police each other's speech and interrupt conversations with any trigger or where any disagreement is present. This course is a reminder of why free speech is a cornerstone of our society. I'm very glad I took this course and congrats to the presenter on an outstanding job.
interesting, timely, and excellent presenter. Very useful at these times.
Wonderful presentation; lucid, organized and thorough. A pleasure to watch.
This was excellent -- I never leave comments, but I felt compelled to note how strong this CLE is as a hate speech refresher. And relevant to today's cultural landscape, for sure.
Great material and presenter.
Outstanding! Great subject, fabulous presentation. Best yet.
Nice visuals
Instructor was very charismatic and engaging. I look forward to hearing him again if he speaks on other issues.
Timely and interesting - good to know the time line of developments
very clear discussion of case law
Lots of information. Fast paced but kept my attention.
Great topic and presentation! Very timely, and the overview of the case law was well-presented.
Needed to know some of this during these times.
relevant today!