Courses

Free speech is an area of law that has been in the news and in the courts lately. Legal controversies involving free speech are not going away any time soon. Free speech law and theory involve principles that provide common ground because freedom of expression is valuable to everyone, regardless of different views on other issues. 

The main reading assignments are key First Amendment cases decided by the United States Supreme Court. These cases are supplemented with other materials, including news articles on current events, lower court cases, and law review articles. Collectively, these materials allow students to gain a more complete understanding of the various interests at play in free speech issues by engaging with law, theory, and policy.  

In addition to the substantive materials, this course includes guest speakers who will provide introductions to parts of the IU-Bloomington campus that relate to our readings, such as the Arnolt Center for Investigative Journalism. One of the U.S. Supreme Court cases we will read arose from a protest just steps outside Bryan Hall. 

Students will learn to how brief a case, present on a current event, draft a class review outline, and take an anonymously graded exam to simulate a typical law school exam experience. Other assessments may also be included. 

Please note: By its very nature, this course involves controversial and sensitive subject matter, such as race, sexual orientation, profanity, and more. Students are not expected to agree with the outcome of every (or any) case. But students are expected to be able to discuss these kinds of materials in a professional and educational manner. Separating one’s personal beliefs from disciplined study of free speech law and policy is a necessary skill and mindset for approaching this course (and rigorous critical thinking generally). 

This course is eligible for honors credit through Hutton Honors College. 

Catalog Information: SPEA-V 100  CURRENT TOPICS IN PUBLIC AFF

Instructor:

Joseph A. Tomain

Email:

jtomain@indiana.edu

Department:

Maurer School of Law

Joseph A. Tomain is a Lecturer at the Maurer School of Law where he teaches Information Privacy Law I and II, Contracts, and Internet Law. Tomain has extensive experience in practice, teaching, and scholarship on free speech rights. He is Director of the law school’s Cybersecurity and Information Privacy Law Program and a Senior Fellow at IU’s Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research (CACR). Tomain’s practical experience includes serving as a civil litigation attorney at Frost Brown Todd, with an emphasis on media law; and providing in-house legal services to a major media company. His articles have been published in several law journals. Currently, Tomain is co-editor of Communications Lawyer, a publication by the American Bar Association Forum on Communications Law. Tomain earned his undergraduate and J.D. degrees at the University of Notre Dame. 

This class is not approved for the IU Bloomington General Education Program.