Question

1.Explain the type of protection the following examples receive under the First Amendment: a. Jim runs into a crowded movie theatre and yells, "Fire!"

2.At 8:45pm on Thursday evening, Northampton Electronics Company, Inc. locks the doors and hvindows to their factory. They keep the employees locked inside until they find out who stole money from the office. Thirty (30) minutes later, the employees were allowed to leave the building. What tort was committed by Northampton Electronics Company, Inc? Explain.

Answer 1

1. Though the image often represents illegal speech, "shouting fire in a crowded theater" refers to an outdated legal standard. At one point, the law criminalized such speech, which created a "clear and present danger." But since 1969, for speech to break the law, it can’t merely lead others to dangerous situations. It must directly encourage others to commit specific criminal actions of their own.

The case in question did not involve fires, theaters or general panic. It instead concerned a man’s conviction for protesting the First World War’s military draft. The man, Charles Schenck, had printed 15,000 fliers that encouraged readers to resist conscription. The Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918 criminalized such an offense, said prosecutors.

This "clear and present danger" standard stood for half a century. Further rulings even expanded it, criminalizing additional speech. But the Supreme Court then heard a case involving a new example of questionable speech, one that modern sensibilities might find more controversial than war protests.

With that ruling, the Court overturned the Schenck decision that had introduced "shouting fire in a crowded theater." No longer was "clear and present danger" a sufficient standard for criminalizing speech. To break the law, speech now had to incite "imminent lawless action."

So as per the first amendment, if a court can prove that you incite imminent lawlessness by falsely shouting "fire" in a crowded theater, it can convict you. If you incite an unlawful riot, your speech is "brigaded" with illegal action, and you will have broken the law. But merely falsely shouting "fire" does not break the law, even if it risks others’ safety.

And, of course, no court will fault you for warning of a fire that actually exists.

2. A Tort is a civil wrong caused when someone suffers harm – such as paying a fine or serving time for a crime they didn’t do – from an unfair cause or false accusation. By filing a Tort claim, the accuser can get the Tort feasor to compensate him for the wrong they have committed on him. There are several different types of Torts that relate to the workplace and are common claims on civil law courts: fraud, defamation, assault, and false imprisonment are the most common Workplace Tort Claims.

In the given case, the tort committed by Northampton Electronics Company, Inc. is False imprisonment which occurs when an employer prevents an employee from leaving a place inside of the workplace without any legal justification. Northampton Electronics Company, Inc. locks the doors and windows to their factory and keep the employees locked inside until they find out who stole money from the office without any legal basis.

To determine whether an action constitutes false imprisonment the circumstances under which it was done must be also taken into accounts.