Free Speech And Democracy In America Social Science Discussion Help

Content Type

User Generated

User

qnfnoyr

Subject

Writing

Description

I will upload the instruction and articles need to be used.

Please do not use other versions of the cases or any outside sources--whether written or online.

Unformatted Attachment Preview

3/6/19, 8:01 PM Hip-Hop Artists Give the Supreme Court a Primer on Rap Music - The New York Times POLITICS The New York Times Hip-Hop Artists Give the Supreme Court a Primer on Rap Music By Adam Liptak March 6, 2019 WASHINGTON — Five years ago, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. enlivened a Supreme Court argument by reciting raw and violent lyrics from the rapper Eminem. The chief justice said he was worried that ignoring the song's musical and cultural context could “subject to prosecution the lyrics that a lot of rap artists use." That case, about online threats in a domestic dispute, ended in a cryptic muddle. But now the issue Chief Justice Roberts raised in passing is squarely at the court's doorstep, in an appeal from a Pittsburgh rapper sent to prison for two years for threatening police officers — in a song. This time, the justices will have expert assistance from a group of hip-hop stars, including Chance the Rapper, Meek Mill, Killer Mike, Yo Gotti, Fat Joe and 21 Savage. In a brief filed Wednesday, they urged the Supreme Court to hear their fellow rapper's First Amendment challenge to his conviction. [Read the brief here.] They also offered the justices, whose average age is about 66, what they called "a primer on rap music and hip-hop." https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/06/us/politics/supreme-court-rap-music.html?action=click&module=Latest&pgtype=Homepage Page 1 of 6 LASS 232: FREE SPEECH, DEMOCRACY, AND ARTISTS SPRING SEMESTER 2019, SECOND PAPER ASSIGNMENT Due at the beginning of class, Thursday, April 4 -- hand-delivered to me, not via e-mail. There will be penalties for late papers. Please write a two-to-three page paper (typed, double-spaced with normal margins) on the following topic: threats on Facebook and also in music lyrics -- more specifically, please analyze the Supreme Court's opinion in Elonis v. United States (handed out in class), as well as the case in the second hand out about hip hop music. To what extent, if any, do you agree with the U.S. Supreme Court's opinion in Elonis v. United States? Please explain why. In your response, please address each and every significant "threat" Elonis made. Also, please discuss possible defenses he might raise -- for example, he mentions Eminem. Which "threats" of his, if any, although perhaps reprehensible, should be protected by the First Amendment? Why? Which "threats", on the other hand, if any, should be considered not worthy of free speech protection and warrant sending Elonis to jail for expressing them on Facebook? Why? Also, please address the hip hop lyrics in the second handout. Do you think there should be a conviction for a threat? Or should the lyrics be protected by the artist's right to free speech? why? Please use, in addition to the Elonis handout, as well as the second handout, only the Sullivan and Feldman (Fifth Edition) casebook, material handed out in class, and the John Stuart Mill reading. You may also reference our class discussions. Please do not use other versions of the cases or any outside sources -- whether written or online. Make sure you have a clear and interesting thesis statement set forth early in the paper -- and that you defend this position throughout. You are to write an analytical paper, not a paper simply describing what transpired in the Elonis case or the other case. Please use specific page citations from the Elonis case handout and the other hand out (and from the Sullivan and Feldman casebook and Mill reading, should you choose to include material from these sources in your paper) when quoting or citing language as evidence to support your argument. Please make sure your name is on the paper, each page is numbered, and the paper is stapled. Do not exceed three pages. You must write at least two pages.
Purchase answer to see full attachment

Tags: democracy Free Speech APA Formatting Style Social Science Discussion Help

User generated content is uploaded by users for the purposes of learning and should be used following Studypool's honor code & terms of service.

Explanation & Answer

Attached.

Free Speech and Democracy
Thesis statement: Based on the interpretation of the law and previous cases, Elonis and
the rapper Mr. Knox should both be found not guilty on the basis that there was no prove beyond
reasonable doubt that they both intended to threaten their subjects in the communications and
that the subjects perceived the communications as actual threats.
I.

Introduction

II.

Elonis v. the United States of America

III.

Threatening his co-workers and defense

IV.

Threatening his wife and defense

V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.

Third count threatening a law enforcement officer
Fourth count and defense
Mr. Knox case
Conclusion

Running head: FREE SPEECH AND DEMOCRACY

Free Speech and Democracy
Name
Institution

1

FREE SPEECH AND DEMOCRACY

2

Free Speech and Democracy
The laws of the United States of America make it illegal to threaten someone knowingly.
The law also explains when one can be found guilty of a crime involving threatening a person or
people. One must have the knowledge that the content that he issues is threatening to another
person and also have the intention of threatening another person. It is also important that the
message is perceived as a threat by reasonable people. The issue about the legalities surrounding
threats on social media and rap music is the center of the discussion. The paper examines two
cases in which defendants were in court because of threatening other people. Based on the
interpretation of the law and previous cases, Elonis and the rapper Mr. Knox should both be
found not guilty on the basis that there was no prove beyond reasonable doubt that they both
intended to threaten their subjects in the communications and that the subjects perceived the
communications as actual threats.
Based on the laws of the U.S.A, the Supreme Court ruling that the trial court had wrongly
convicted Elonis was correct (SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES, 2015). The law
did not substantiate the various counts of threats that the defendant made. On the first count,
Elonis was accused of threatening his co-workers. In the count, even though the defendant used
words that may be threatening, the Court of Appeals was right in finding him not guilty because
even though the coworkers maybe have perceived him as guilty, he had already given a
disclaimer that the characters in his lyrics should not be perceived to be real persons. Therefore,
it was clear that he did ...