Civil Disobedience, Injunctions, and the First Amendment

Abstract

Classic First Amendment law divides the world of expressive conduct into two parts: that which is protected by the Constitution and that which is not. Expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment generally cannot be prohibited by the government, though it may be regulated with reference to what is called time, place and manner. Expressive conduct that is not protected by the First Amendment can be prohibited by the government to precisely the same extent as any other kind of conduct. Indeed, the Supreme Court has upheld severe penalties for non-protected expressive conduct.