2 notable events for 1st Amendment scholars

I noted two events in the news recently relating to law school study of the First Amendment.

First, Irving Feiner passed away last month at the age of 84. Mr. Feiner was immortalized in my First Amendment final exam study outline with the following entry:

I. Content-based restrictions
[. . .]

D. Dangerous Ideas and Information (high-value expression) - 4 problems arise:
[. . .]

3. expression that provokes a hostile audience response (i.e., against speaker, 3d parties)
[. . .]

d. speech is unprotected when it incites to riot: Feiner v. N.Y. (1951) (N.B. petitioner was urging blacks to fight for their rights) (but note progeny: in Civil Rights era, Court repeatedly kept states from using breach-of-peace statutes against peaceable demonstrators in 3 "far cry" fact situations from Feiner)

(1) stirring audience to anger ≠ inciting to riot: Edwards v. S.C. (1963) (civil rights march arrests overturned)
(2) demonstration that may potentially incite to riot ≠ inciting to riot: Cox v. La. (1965) (peaceful march + speech + lunch counter sit-in led to tear gas)
(3) demonstrators' non-disorderly conduct leading to hostile crowd reaction ≠ inciting to riot: Gregory v. Chicago (1969)

In other words, the Court backed off after Feiner -- and Brown v. Board -- choosing to distinguish subsequent cases in favor of the speakers.

Second, the strip club at issue in Schad v. Borough of Mount Ephraim has gone out of business. In other words, the Bush Depression of 2009 has done to the Fantasy Showbar what Camden County puritans could not convince the Supreme Court to do in 1981.

Let us have a moment of silent reflection.