Violence and Pornography: Legal and Ethical Considerations

Raphael Cohen-Almagor

 

Annual Course/Seminar

 

 

The course explores possible boundaries to freedom of expression. It highlights John Stuart Mill’s Harm to Others Principle as well as the Offence Principle: Can we say that sometimes, the harm or the offence brought about by a certain speech constitutes such an injury that it cannot be tolerated? More specifically, the question is: Under what conditions preventing offence can provide adequate grounds for limiting freedom of expression. Attention will be given to examples taken from the United States, Canada, Britain and Israel. We will touch upon controversial expressions such as racism; hate speech; incitement; offensive speech; hard core, soft core, and virtual pornography; media coverage of violence; violence on TV and in songs and the movies. Finally, we examine the increasing role of the Internet in our lives and its harms.

 

 

 

Grading

Active participation in class (25%);

Presenting a paper in class (25%);

Final paper (50%).

 

 

Readings noted with * are optional.

 

 

1. Why Speech Enjoys Special Status?

 

 

a. Introduction

 

Aharon Barak, “Freedom of Expression and Its Limitations”, in Raphael Cohen-Almagor (ed.), Challenges to Democracy: Essays in Honour and Memory of Isaiah Berlin (London: Ashgate Publishing Ltd., 2000), pp. 167-188.

 

R. Cohen-Almagor, "The Scope of Tolerance and Its Moral Reasoning", in The Scope of Tolerance (London and NY: Routledge, 2006), chap. 1.

 

 

b. The Absolutist School

 

The importance of the First Amendment in the US;

Self-government and autonomy.

 

Alexander Meiklejohn, "The First Amendment Is An Absolute", The Supreme Court Review (1961), pp. 245-266.

 

Alexander Meiklejohn, "Freedom of Speech", in Peter Radcliff (ed.), Limits of Liberty (Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Co., 1966), pp. 19-26.

 

Raphael Cohen-Almagor, The Boundaries of Liberty and Tolerance (Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 1994), chap. 5.

 

 

* Alexander Meiklejohn, "The Balancing of Self-Preservation Against Political Freedom", California Law Review (1961), Vol. 49, pp. 4-14.

 

* Hugo L. Black, "The Bill of Rights", N.Y. University Law Review (1960), Vol. 35, pp. 865-881.

 

* Raphael Cohen-Almagor, The Boundaries of Liberty and Tolerance (Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 1994), chap. 1.

 

 

 

c. The Consequentialist School

 

The notion of tolerant society;

Actual harm v. the fear of consequences.

 

John Rawls, A Theory of Justice (Oxford: Oxford UP., 1971), pp. 216-221.

 

Lee C. Bollinger, The Tolerant Society (Oxford: Oxford UP, 1986), pp. 175-200.

 

Anthony Skillen, "Freedom of Speech", in Keith Graham (ed.), Contemporary Political Philosophy (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1982), pp. 139-159.

 

 

* Frederick Schauer, "The Cost of Communicative Tolerance", in R. Cohen-Almagor (ed.), Liberal Democracy and the Limits of Tolerance (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2000(, pp. 28-42.

 

* Raphael Cohen-Almagor, The Boundaries of Liberty and Tolerance, chap. 4.

 

 

2. Boundaries to Freedom of Expression

 

Mill’s theory: freedom of thought, of speech, and of action;

Limits to free expression;

The Millian Truth Principle;

Respect for others.

 

J.S. Mill, On Liberty, chaps. 1, 3, 4, 5.

 

* David Lyons, "Liberty and Harm to Others", in Robert M. Stewart (ed.) Readings in Social and Political Philosophy (Oxford UP., 1986), pp. 156-167.

 

* Joseph Raz, "Autonomy, Toleration, and the Harm Principle", in Susan Mendus (ed.), Justifying Toleration (Cambridge UP., 1988), pp. 155-175.

 

* Joel Feinberg, Harm to Others (Oxford UP., 1984), chaps. 2, 3.

 

 

3. Offensive Speech

 

Offensive speech in plays

Offensive speech in films.

 

 

Joel Feinberg, Offence to Others (Oxford UP., 1985), Chaps. 7, 9.

 

R. Cohen-Almagor, “The Offence to Sensibilities Argument as A Ground for Limiting Freedom of Expression”, International Journal of Politics and Ethics, Vol. 2, Issues 2 and 3 (2002), pp. 101-117 and 189-209 (two parts).

 

 

4. Racism

 

The Nazi attempted march in Skokie;

Media’s ban on Meir Kahane;

Ban racist speech?;

The right to participate in elections;

 

David Kretzmer, "Freedom of Speech and Racism", Cardozo Law Review (1987), pp. 445-513.

 

R. Cohen-Almagor, Speech, Media, and Ethics: The Limits of Free Expression (New York and Houndmills: Palgrave, 2005), chaps. 1, 3.

 

 

* Norman Dorsen, "Is There A Right to Stop Offensive Speech? The Case of the Nazis in Skokie", in Larry Gostin (ed.), Civil Liberties in Conflict (London: Routledge, 1988), pp. 122-135.

 

* R. Cohen-Almagor, The Boundaries of Liberty and Tolerance, pp. 223-229 and chap. 9.

 

* John Solomos, Race and Racism in Contemporary Britain (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1989), chaps. 4, 7, 10.

 

 

5. Hate Speech

 

Media coverage of hate speech and Holocaust denial in Canada;

The David Duke affair in the United States;

Nazi memorabilia on the Internet: The Yahoo case in France and the USA.

 

 

David E. Boeyink, “Reporting on Political Extremists in the United States: The Ku Klux Klan, the Unabomber, and the Militias”, in R. Cohen-Almagor (ed.), Liberal Democracy and the Limits of Tolerance (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2000), pp. 215-231.

 

R. Cohen-Almagor, "Hate Speech in Canada", The Scope of Tolerance (London and NY: Routledge, 2006), chap. 7.

 

Joel R. Reidenberg, "Yahoo and Democracy on the Internet", Jurimetrics, Vol. 42 (2002), pp. 261-280.

 

 

Video: Websites of hate.

Ernst Zundel.

 

* R. Cohen-Almagor, “Ethical Considerations in Media Coverage of Hate Speech in Canada”, Review of Constitutional Studies, Vol. 6, No. 1 (2001), pp. 79-100.

 

* Gabriel Weimann and Conrad Winn, Hate on Trial (Mosaic Books, 1985), chaps. 3, 4.

 

* David Bercuson and Douglas Wertheimer, A Trust Betrayed: The Keegstra Affair (Toronto: Doubleday, 1985), chaps. 8, 10.

 

* Wayne Sumner, "Should Hate Speech Be Free Speech? John Stuart Mill and the Limits of Tolerance", in R. Cohen-Almagor (ed.), Liberal Democracy and the Limits of Tolerance (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2000).

 

* Barry Steinhardt, “Hate Speech”, in Yaman Akdeniz, Clive Walker and David Wall (eds.), The Internet, Law and Society (Harlow, Essex: Pearson Education Ltd., 2000), pp. 249-271.

 

 

6. Threats and Incitement

 

a. Threats

 

Advocacy v. incitement;

True threats.

 

USA v. Baker and Gonda 890 F. Supp. 1375, US District Court, E.D. Michigan (June 21, 1995).

 

USA v. Alkhabaz 104 F.3d 1492 (6th Cir. 1997).

 

The Secretary, United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, on behalf of Bonnie Jouhari and Pilar Horton v. Ryan Wilson and ALPHA HQ, before Alan W. Heifetz, Chief Administrative Law Judge (decided July 19, 2000), available at http://www.hud.gov/utilities/intercept.cfm?/offices/oalj/cases/fha/pdf/wilson.pdf

 

 

* United States v. Machado 195 F.3d 454 (9th Cir. 1999).

 

b. Incitement

 

The Nuremberg files;

The Paladin case;

 

Planned Parenthood of the Columbia/Willamette Inc. et al v. American Coalition of Life Activists, U.S Court of Appeals for the Nine Circuit (May 21, 2002).

 

Rice v. Paladin Enterprises Inc., No. 96-2412, 128 F.3d 233 (November 10, 1997).

 

 

Video: "Deliberate Intent," Paladin Press.

 

 

* Planned Parenthood of the Columbia/Willamette Inc. et al v. American Coalition of Life Activists, No. 95-1671-JO, 41 F.Supp.2d 1130 (March 16, 1999).

 

* Planned Parenthood of the Columbia/Willamette Inc. et al v. American Coalition of Life Activists, U.S Court of Appeals for the Nine Circuit (March 28, 2001).

 

* Jennifer E. Rothman, "Freedom of Speech and True Threats", Harvard J. of Law & Public Policy, Vol. 25, Issue 1 (2001).

 

 

c. Incitement in Israel

 

The incitement campaign against Yitzhak Rabin

The incitement against Ariel Sharon

 

R. Cohen-Almagor, "On Incitement", The Scope of Tolerance (London and NY: Routledge, 2006), chap. 6.

 

R. Cohen-Almagor, “Political Extremism and Incitement in Israel 1993-1995, 2003-2005: Comparative Analysis” (working paper).

 

 

Video: "The Road to Rabin Square", The Incitement Campaign against Prime Minister Rabin

 

* Raphael Cohen-Almagor, “Combating Right-Wing Political Extremism in Israel: Critical Appraisal”, Terrorism and Political Violence, Vol. 9, No. 4 (1997), pp. 82-105.

 

 

7. Militia Groups

 

The David Koresh affair

Media responsibility

 

David E. Boeyink, “Reporting on Political Extremists in the United States: The Ku Klux Klan, the Unabomber, and the Militias”, in R. Cohen-Almagor (ed.), Liberal Democracy and the Limits of Tolerance (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2000), pp. 215-231.

 

Risenhoover v. England, 936 F. Supp. 392 (W.D.Tex 1996).

 

 

8. Terrorism

 

The Media - the terrorist’s best friend;

The October 1970 crisis in Canada: media coverage of the FLQ;

Objectivity and neutrality;

The relationships between government, media and terrorists;

Free speech after September 11, 2001;

The Patriot Act.

 

Lord Chalfont, “The Price of Sympathy”, in Benjamin Netanyahu (ed.), Terrorism: How the West Can Win (New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1986), pp. 126-129.

 

R. Cohen-Almagor, “Objective Reporting in the Media: Phantom Rather than Panacea”, in Speech, Media, and Ethics: The Limits of Free Expression (London: Palgrave, 2005), chap. 4.

 

R. Cohen-Almagor, “The Terrorists’ Best Ally: The FLQ Crisis”, in The Scope of Tolerance, chap. 9.

 

Marin R. Scordato and Paula A. Monopoli, "Free Speech Rationales After September 11th: The First Amendment in Post-World Trade Center America", Stanford Law and Policy Review, Vol. 13 (2002), 185.

 

 

Video: ABC on Terrorist events

9/11

 

 

* R.D. Crelinsten, “Power and Meaning: Terrorism as a Struggle over Access to the Communication Structure”, in Paul Wilkinson and Alasdair M. Stewart (eds.), Contemporary Research on Terrorism (Aberdeen: Aberdeen University Press, 1989), pp. 419-450.

 

* Marc Raboy, Movements and Messages (Toronto: Between the Lines, 1984), pp. 64-74.

 

* Robert A. Hackett, and Yuezhi Zhao, Sustaining Democracy? Journalism and the Politics of Objectivity (Toronto: Garamond Press, 1998), Chap. 2.

* R. Cohen-Almagor, “Media Coverage of Terror: Troubling Episodes and Suggested Guidelines", Canadian Journal of Communication, Volume 30, No. 3 (2005).

* Robert G. Picard, “The Journalist’s Role in Coverage of Terrorist Events”, in Alali, A. Odasuo and Kenoye Kelvin Eke (eds.), Media Coverage of Terrorism (Newbury Park, Cal.: Sage, 1991), pp. 40-48.

 

* http://www.eff.org/Privacy/Surveillance/Terrorism_militias/20011025_hr3162_usa_patriot_bill.html

 

 

9. Violence on TV

 

Violence in communication and its influence on children;

Should we employ censorship on songs and television?

 

Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, Prairie Regional Council, Decision Concerning ‘CJKR-FM re the song "Kill All the White Man" by NOFX (CBSC Decision 04/05-0612, June 2, 2005).

 

Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, Ontario Regional Council, Decision Concerning ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’ on CIII-TV (April-May 1994), files 9394-270; 9394-277).

 

 

Video: Violence on Television

 

 

9. Pornography

 

a. Child Pornography

 

Erotica, Soft and hard-core pornography;

Liberal, feminist and conservative views.

Child pornography.

 

 

Andrew Altman, "The Right to Get Turned On: Pornography, Autonomy, Equality", in Andrew I. Cohen and Christopher Heath Wellman (eds.), Applied Ethics (Oxford: Blackwell, 2005), pp. 223-235.

 

Susan J. Brison, "'The Price We Pay'? Pornography and Harm", in Andrew I. Cohen and Christopher Heath Wellman (eds.), Applied Ethics (Oxford: Blackwell, 2005), pp. 236-250.

 

Ashcroft v. ACLU 542 U.S. (2004).

 

 

Video : Not a Love Story

 

* T.M. Scanlon, “Freedom of Expression and Categories of Expression”, Un. of Pittsburgh Law Review, No. 3 (1979), pp. 519-550 (read only the part dealing with pornography).

 

* Roth v. U.S. 354 U.S. 476 (1957).

 

* Ronald Dworkin, "Do We Have A Right to Pornography?", in A Matter of Principle (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1986), pp. 335-372.

 

* Rae Langton, “Whose Right? Ronald Dworkin, Women, and the Pornographers”, Philosophy and Public Affairs, Vol. 19 (1990), pp. 311-359.

 

* Yaman Akdeniz, “Child Pornography”, in Yaman Akdeniz, Clive Walker and David Wall (eds.), The Internet, Law and Society (Harlow, Essex: Pearson Education Ltd., 2000), pp. 231-248.

 

* Child pornography: images of the abuse of children, at http://www.nspcc.org.uk/inform/Info_Briefing/ChildPornography.asp

 

* Ethel Quayle and Max Taylor, "Child Pornography and the Internet: Assessment Issues," British J. of Social Work, Vol. 32 (2002).

 

 

b. Virtual Pornography

 

Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition 535 U.S. (2002).

 

Arnold H. Loewy, “Taking Free Speech Seriously: The United States Supreme Court and Virtual Child Pornography”, UNC Public Law Research Paper No. 02-17 (2002).

 

 

10. Looking Ahead

 

The challenges posed by the Internet

 

Raphael Cohen-Almagor, "In Internet's Way", in Mark Fackler and Robert S. Fortner (eds.), Ethics and Evil in the Public Sphere: Media, Universal Values & Global Development (Chicago, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2007).

 

Yariv Tsfati and Gabriel Weimann, "www.terrorism.com: Terror on the Internet", Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, Vol. 25 (2002), pp. 317-332.

 

 

* K.R. Damphousse and B.L. Smith, "The Internet: A Terrorist Medium for the 21st Century," in H. W. Kushner (ed.), The Future of Terrorism: Violence in the new millennium (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1998): 208-224.

 

* Marin R. Scordato and Paula A. Monopoli, "Free Speech Rationales After September 11th: The First Amendment in Post-World Trade Center America", Stanford Law and Policy Review, Vol. 13 (2002), 185.

 

* William D. Araiza, "Tales from the Net: Captive Audiences, Children and the Home," Loyola Law School (Los Angeles) Public Law and Legal Theory, Research Paper No. 2002-30 (October 2002).

 

* R. Cohen-Almagor, "Conclusions", in The Scope of Tolerance (London: Routledge, 2005) (only the part on the Internet).