A First Amendment Exam Question

I am a professor of law at the University of Chicago. In our winter quarter, I taught Constitutional Law -- Freedom of Expression. Below is one of the questions from my examination. I thought some of you might find it interesting.

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(60 Minutes)

On March 26, 2006, the Jacksonville Courier published in a special supplement to its Sunday edition six cartoons of Mohammad that had earlier triggered violence throughout the Muslim world. The editor of the Courier explained in an editorial that "it is ridiculous that the publication of these drawings caused riots, yet the American people have effectively been denied the opportunity even to see what all the fuss was about." Within 48 hours, furious mobs had burned U.S. embassies to the ground in Pakistan, Yemen, Nigeria, Libya, and Saudi Arabia, killing more than 160 Americans.

On April 1, Congress enacted legislation making it unlawful for any person or organization in the United States "to publish, exhibit or disseminate any image of the prophet Mohammad." Described as emergency legislation, the statute would expire, unless renewed, on March 31, 2008. In signing the Act, President Bush declared, "With this law, we acknowledge for all the world that the United States is respectful of religion - Islam no less than Christianity and Judaism. Muslims consider it blasphemous for anyone to create and exhibit an image of Mohammad, and we will not tolerate such hateful images in our nation. Just as we punish those who paint swastikas on synagogues or burn churches, so too must we punish those who commit despicable acts against those of the Islamic faith."

Three days later, Arianna Huffington posts on her website, huffingtonpost.com, four new cartoons of the image of Mohammad. She says, simply, "This is America. We do not tolerate censorship." This triggers more riots in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. The United States government apologizes to the world community and arrests Huffington. She is tried and convicted of violating the new legislation and sentenced to ten years in prison. She appeals her conviction.

Huffington v. United States has just been argued in the Supreme Court. You are a law clerk to Chief Justice John Roberts, who asks you to write a memorandum for him analyzing the First Amendment issues posed in this case. Write the memorandum.