Solution Manual For
Trager's The Law of Journalism and Mass Communication Eighth Edition Victoria Smith Ekstrand,
Caitlin Ring Carlson, Erin Coyle, Susan Dente Ross, Amy Reynolds
Chapter 1-12
Lecture Notes
Chapter 1: The Rule of Law: Law in a Changing Communication and
Political Environment
Learning Objectives
1-1 Define rule of law and explain the role of law in society.
1-2 Describe the six original sources that create laws of journalism and mass communication.
1-3 Describe the structure of the U.S. judicial system and how cases move through the appeals
process.
1-4 Find and feel comfortable using legal research resources.
1-5 Understand how to read and brief a case.
Annotated Chapter Outline
I. Rule of Law
A. Attorney General Bill Barr’s discussion of the rule of law.
B. Katie Wright’s questioning of the rule of law.
C. Disconnect between the rule of law and rule by law.
D. Rule of law: the contract established by laws that governs interactions among residents
and between the people and their government to enhance liberty, freedom, and justice
for all.
E. Trust in government institutions (incl. the legal system) has been declining in the United
States since the 1960s.
F. Erosion of democratic norms and unwritten rules.
G. Lon Fuller’s view on the rule of law.
i. A set of standards that established norms and procedures to encourage
consistent, neutral decision making equally for all.
, ii. Desiderata (desired outcomes) for laws:
a. General and not discriminatory.
b. Widely known and disseminated.
c. Forward-looking in their application rather that retroactive.
d. Clear and specific.
e. Self-consistent and complementary of each other.
f. Capable of being obeyed.
g. Relatively stable over time.
h. Applied and enforced in ways that reflect their underlying intent.
iii. Critiques:
a. Does not provide guidance for drafting, interpreting, or applying the law
(application).
b. Problematic idea of neutral principles.
H. Vague laws: laws that fail to define their terms or are unclear and that are unacceptable
because people may avoid participating in legal activities out of uncertainty over
whether their actions are illegal (e.g., Supreme Court struck down a provision of the
Immigration and Nationality Act in 2018).
I. Discretion: the ability to of officials to apply legal rules differently to different groups of
people.
J. Overbroad: a type of law that is poorly tailored and punishes activities that pose no risk
to society.
K. Precedents (stare decisis): the legal principle that tells courts to stand by what courts
have decided previously and is the heart of common law.
i. Issue of unclear or conflicting precedent.
L. Often a question of which precedents to apply (e.g., Citizens United v. Federal Election
Commission).
II. Body of the Law
,A. The laws of journalism and mass communication generally originate from six sources:
constitutions, statutes, common law, equity law, administrative law, and executive
orders.
B. Constitutions
i. Constitutional law: establishes the nature, functions, and limits of government
(U.S. Constitutions and individual state constitutions).
ii. U.S. Constitution protects individual liberties sometimes at the expense of much
larger groups (e.g., First Amendment).
iii. Separation of government into branches provides checks and balances to
support the rule of law.
iv. Political questions: the issues that revolve around policy choices and value
determinations that are outside the purview of the judicial branch.
v. Supremacy Clause: a clause that establishes the Constitution as the supreme law
of the land and resolves conflicts among laws by establishing that all state laws
must give way to federal law, and state or federal laws that conflict with the
Constitution are invalid.
vi. Constitution is difficult to change; can only do so through a two-thirds vote in
both chambers of Congress or two-thirds state legislatures vote for a
Constitutional Convention.
vii.Federalism: the principle under which states are related to, yet independent of,
the federal government and each other and which encourages experimentation
and variety in government.
viii. Only 33 amendments approved by Congress (e.g., Bill of Rights).
C. Statutes
i. Statutory law: clear, stable, and specific definitions of the legal limit of particular
activities.
a. Establish the rules of copyright, broadcasting, advertising and access to
government meetings and information.
b. Formally adopted through a public process.
ii. Black-letter law: the category encompassing statutes and constitutions, meaning
formally enacted, written law that is available in legal reports or other
documents.
, iii. Laws can be amended or repealed.
iv. Marbury v. Madison (1803)—the Supreme Court established the courts’ power
to interpret laws.
v. (Statutory) construction: the process whereby courts determine an unclear,
imprecise, or ambiguous law’s meaning and application.
vi. Strict construction: a court’s determination that narrowly defines laws
according to their literal meaning and clearly stated intent.
vii.Facial meaning: the “plain meaning” of a law’s wording.
viii. The deference to legislative intent reflects courts’ recognition that the
power to write laws lies with the legislature.
ix. Courts try to interpret the plain meaning of a statute to avoid conflicts with
other laws, including the Constitution.
x. Review of constitutionality is a last resort, and courts generally preserve portions
of a law that can be upheld without violating the general intent of the statute.
xi. Judicial review: as established in Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court’s
power to strike down laws it finds to be in conflict with the Constitution.
a. Court gave itself the authority to limit Congress’s power to enact laws.
b. Courts other than the U.S. Supreme Court rarely use this power.
c. Supreme Court has used this power sparingly.
D. Common Law
i. Common law: judge-made law, mainly at the state level, that constitutes a vast
body of legal principles created from hundreds of years of dispute resolution that
reaches back to England.
a. Arises when judges base their ruling on precedent and legal doctrines
established in similar cases.
b. Common law principles are sometimes adopted into statute by
legislators (e.g., “fair use” in copyright law).
ii. Presumes that precedent should guide future courts.
a. Stare decisis—courts should follow each other’s guidance.
b. Establishes consistency and stability.
Trager's The Law of Journalism and Mass Communication Eighth Edition Victoria Smith Ekstrand,
Caitlin Ring Carlson, Erin Coyle, Susan Dente Ross, Amy Reynolds
Chapter 1-12
Lecture Notes
Chapter 1: The Rule of Law: Law in a Changing Communication and
Political Environment
Learning Objectives
1-1 Define rule of law and explain the role of law in society.
1-2 Describe the six original sources that create laws of journalism and mass communication.
1-3 Describe the structure of the U.S. judicial system and how cases move through the appeals
process.
1-4 Find and feel comfortable using legal research resources.
1-5 Understand how to read and brief a case.
Annotated Chapter Outline
I. Rule of Law
A. Attorney General Bill Barr’s discussion of the rule of law.
B. Katie Wright’s questioning of the rule of law.
C. Disconnect between the rule of law and rule by law.
D. Rule of law: the contract established by laws that governs interactions among residents
and between the people and their government to enhance liberty, freedom, and justice
for all.
E. Trust in government institutions (incl. the legal system) has been declining in the United
States since the 1960s.
F. Erosion of democratic norms and unwritten rules.
G. Lon Fuller’s view on the rule of law.
i. A set of standards that established norms and procedures to encourage
consistent, neutral decision making equally for all.
, ii. Desiderata (desired outcomes) for laws:
a. General and not discriminatory.
b. Widely known and disseminated.
c. Forward-looking in their application rather that retroactive.
d. Clear and specific.
e. Self-consistent and complementary of each other.
f. Capable of being obeyed.
g. Relatively stable over time.
h. Applied and enforced in ways that reflect their underlying intent.
iii. Critiques:
a. Does not provide guidance for drafting, interpreting, or applying the law
(application).
b. Problematic idea of neutral principles.
H. Vague laws: laws that fail to define their terms or are unclear and that are unacceptable
because people may avoid participating in legal activities out of uncertainty over
whether their actions are illegal (e.g., Supreme Court struck down a provision of the
Immigration and Nationality Act in 2018).
I. Discretion: the ability to of officials to apply legal rules differently to different groups of
people.
J. Overbroad: a type of law that is poorly tailored and punishes activities that pose no risk
to society.
K. Precedents (stare decisis): the legal principle that tells courts to stand by what courts
have decided previously and is the heart of common law.
i. Issue of unclear or conflicting precedent.
L. Often a question of which precedents to apply (e.g., Citizens United v. Federal Election
Commission).
II. Body of the Law
,A. The laws of journalism and mass communication generally originate from six sources:
constitutions, statutes, common law, equity law, administrative law, and executive
orders.
B. Constitutions
i. Constitutional law: establishes the nature, functions, and limits of government
(U.S. Constitutions and individual state constitutions).
ii. U.S. Constitution protects individual liberties sometimes at the expense of much
larger groups (e.g., First Amendment).
iii. Separation of government into branches provides checks and balances to
support the rule of law.
iv. Political questions: the issues that revolve around policy choices and value
determinations that are outside the purview of the judicial branch.
v. Supremacy Clause: a clause that establishes the Constitution as the supreme law
of the land and resolves conflicts among laws by establishing that all state laws
must give way to federal law, and state or federal laws that conflict with the
Constitution are invalid.
vi. Constitution is difficult to change; can only do so through a two-thirds vote in
both chambers of Congress or two-thirds state legislatures vote for a
Constitutional Convention.
vii.Federalism: the principle under which states are related to, yet independent of,
the federal government and each other and which encourages experimentation
and variety in government.
viii. Only 33 amendments approved by Congress (e.g., Bill of Rights).
C. Statutes
i. Statutory law: clear, stable, and specific definitions of the legal limit of particular
activities.
a. Establish the rules of copyright, broadcasting, advertising and access to
government meetings and information.
b. Formally adopted through a public process.
ii. Black-letter law: the category encompassing statutes and constitutions, meaning
formally enacted, written law that is available in legal reports or other
documents.
, iii. Laws can be amended or repealed.
iv. Marbury v. Madison (1803)—the Supreme Court established the courts’ power
to interpret laws.
v. (Statutory) construction: the process whereby courts determine an unclear,
imprecise, or ambiguous law’s meaning and application.
vi. Strict construction: a court’s determination that narrowly defines laws
according to their literal meaning and clearly stated intent.
vii.Facial meaning: the “plain meaning” of a law’s wording.
viii. The deference to legislative intent reflects courts’ recognition that the
power to write laws lies with the legislature.
ix. Courts try to interpret the plain meaning of a statute to avoid conflicts with
other laws, including the Constitution.
x. Review of constitutionality is a last resort, and courts generally preserve portions
of a law that can be upheld without violating the general intent of the statute.
xi. Judicial review: as established in Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court’s
power to strike down laws it finds to be in conflict with the Constitution.
a. Court gave itself the authority to limit Congress’s power to enact laws.
b. Courts other than the U.S. Supreme Court rarely use this power.
c. Supreme Court has used this power sparingly.
D. Common Law
i. Common law: judge-made law, mainly at the state level, that constitutes a vast
body of legal principles created from hundreds of years of dispute resolution that
reaches back to England.
a. Arises when judges base their ruling on precedent and legal doctrines
established in similar cases.
b. Common law principles are sometimes adopted into statute by
legislators (e.g., “fair use” in copyright law).
ii. Presumes that precedent should guide future courts.
a. Stare decisis—courts should follow each other’s guidance.
b. Establishes consistency and stability.
