Q 01/05

What did Mary Beth Tinker and other Des Moines students wear to school to protest the Vietnam War?

A) Peace-sign buttons

B) Black armbands

C) White headbands

D) Tie-dyed shirts

Answer · why

B) Black armbands

Black armbands got 13-year-old Mary Beth Tinker suspended, and the Supreme Court sided with the students 7–2 in 1969. The ruling said the First Amendm...

Q 02/05

Citizens United v. FEC began with a documentary film attacking which 2008 presidential candidate?

A) Hillary Clinton

B) Barack Obama

C) Mitt Romney

D) Bill Richardson

Answer · why

A) Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton was the target of Hillary: The Movie, which the nonprofit wanted to air on DirecTV. The Supreme Court used the case to strike down cur...

Q 03/05

Which comedian's monologue about words unfit for broadcast led to FCC v. Pacifica Foundation in 1978?

A) Lenny Bruce

B) Richard Pryor

C) George Carlin

D) Redd Foxx

Answer · why

C) George Carlin

George Carlin's routine aired on a New York station one afternoon in 1973, and a father who heard it in the car with his young son complained. The Cou...

Q 04/05

Which televangelist lost a unanimous Supreme Court case against Hustler magazine over a crude parody ad?

A) Pat Robertson

B) Jimmy Swaggart

C) Billy Graham

D) Jerry Falwell

Answer · why

D) Jerry Falwell

Jerry Falwell had won damages from a jury for emotional distress before the justices ruled 8–0 against him in 1988. They held that a public figure can...

Q 05/05

Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association struck down a California ban on selling what to minors?

A) Violent video games

B) Explicit rap albums

C) Horror comic books

D) R-rated movie tickets

Answer · why

A) Violent video games

Violent video games were ruled protected speech like other media in a 7–2 decision in 2011. Justice Antonin Scalia wondered whether the law's vague id...