Selected Freedom of Speech Cases

West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943)
Freedom of speech also includes the right not to speak.
A West Virginia law required all students in its public schools to begin each day by saluting the flag and reciting the pledge of allegiance. Students who were Jehovah's Witnesses objected to this practice, arguing that their religion permitted them to pledge allegiance to God alone. Only three years before this decision, the Supreme Court in Minnersville School District v. Gobbits, ruled that national unity as expressed through the flag salute outweighed the students free speech rights. Here, the Court reversed itself and concluded that the free speech clause of the First Amendment included a right not to speak. In essence, the Court held that the government cannot prescribe and force students to adhere to "accepted" beliefs.

United States v. O'Brien, 391 U.S. 367 (1968)
Burning draft cards is not constitionally protected speech.
O'Brien and other defendants burned draft cards to protest the Vietnam War. They were arrested, tried, and convicted under a law that required individuals to carry their draft cards at all times and which prevented their destruction. In rejecting a free speech challenge to the law, the Supreme Court held that the U.S. government's interest in running an efficient draft system during the Vietnam War, including requiring individuals to have their draft cards, outweighed free speech concerns in this matter.

Tinker v. Des Moines, 393 U.S. 503 (1969)
Students "do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech and expression at the schoolhouse gate...".
To protest the Vietnam War, Mary Beth Tinker and her brother wore black armbands to school. Fearing a disruption, the administration prohibited wearing such armbands. The Tinkers were removed from school when they failed to comply, but the Supreme Court ruled that the students' actions were protected by the First Amendment.

Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1 (1976)
The dollar amount of campaign contributions by individuals cannot be restricted because they are a form of free speech protected by the First Amendment.

In an attempt to promote campaign finance reform, Congress enacted the Federal Election Campaign Act in 1972 (FECA). Among other things, this Act placed limits on the amount of money that individuals, political action committees (PACs), and corporations could contribute to presidential candidates. The Supreme Court ruled that the restrictions on PACs and corporate contributions could survive, because they were regulatory measures that did not involve the free speech rights of individuals. However, the Court struck down limitations on the amount of money that individual donors could give, saying that campaign contributions constituted a form of "speech" protected by the First Amendment. In other words, by giving money to a particular candidate, donors were expressing their approval of that candidate in the hope that the candidate would win the election.

Bethel School District #43 v. Fraser, 478 U.S. 675 (1986)
Students do not have a First Amendment right to make obscene speeches in school.
Matthew N. Fraser, a student at Bethel High School, was suspended for three days for delivering an obscene and provocative speech to the student body. In this speech, he nominated his fellow classmate for an elected school office. The Supreme Court held that his free speech rights were not violated.