Macro and micro views on the First Amendment

The First Amendment Center has two articles that together offer perspective on the broad and narrow protections afforded by the First Amendment. One, Wartime Riskiest for Free Speech, Scholar Says, is an interview with University of Chicago Law School Professor Geoffrey R. Stone, author of the soon-to-be-released book, Perilous Times: Free Speech in Wartime. "The United States government has never attempted directly to suppress criticism of public policies or public officials except in time of war," Stone says. The other, Unlikely Hero Emerges in Struggle for Courtroom Access, tells the story of Scott Huminski, a critic of the Vermont courts who recently won a ruling from the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the First Amendment prevents Vermont court officials from barring him from their proceedings.