New York (NY) First Amendment CLE Course Catalog

In this fun and interesting program, explore social media and how the law regulates the social media sites. This program explores the two major pillars of immunity form the 1990’s that facilitated social media growth, the immunity from state tort liability for defamation and state torts, and the copyright immunity for infringement on their sites.

Much legal talk these days is about the weaponization of the legal system to push political persecutions. This program looks at an actual case of a weaponized legal system, what the Supreme Court called a “crusade,” by exploring the Cold War trials of Harry Bridges. In part two of this program, experienced intellectual property lawyer Peter Afrasiabi, who authored the definitive book on the Harry Bridges trials from National Archive and FBI FOIA records, finishes the story by discussing the perjury trial of Bridges that stands as yet another example of how the legal system was contorted to produce what was persecution by prosecution.

In the latest installment of “The Curious Lawyer” series, Peter Afrasiabi reviews landmark Supreme Court decisions in cases involving draft card and flag burning and other anti-war messaging, publication of the Pentagon Papers, conscientious objectors to the draft and claims that the war itself was illegal.

Who killed JFK? While he doesn’t answer that question, in the latest installment of “The Curious Lawyer” series, Peter Afrasiabi discusses several legal issues arising from the assassination of President Kennedy including copyright, freedom of speech and the press, government takings, prosecutorial overreach, access to government records, and antitrust.

Everyone knows that the First Amendment safeguards freedom of speech from government intervention, but does that protection extend to speech that is hateful, offensive or incites violence? Peter Afrasiabi reviews the history of free speech protections in the United States — from famous cases involving flag burning, Nazi marches and anti-war protests — and carries it through to present day controversies including cyberstalkers who send messages threating violence and former President Donald Trump who made statements targeting protesters at a campaign rally.

From polygamy and abolitionism in the 1800’s, to socialist and anti-war movements in the 1900’s to same-sex marriage in the 2000’s, the First Amendment is the vehicle through which social issues of the day become test cases. While content and viewpoint limits generally fail to pass constitutional muster, other types of speech such as obscenity, fighting words and defamation receive less protection and may be restricted by the government under certain conditions. In the latest installment of “The Curious Lawyer” series, Peter Afrasiabi takes a deep dive into each of the ten amendments in the Bill of Rights, reminding us what each amendment protects and illustrating its impact on the other constitutional protections we enjoy. Whether you are a budding constitutional scholar or simply looking for interesting facts to share at a cocktail party, the Bill of Rights series is for you.