The "Hit Man" v. Brandenburg

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how the Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969) case has been an active and major precedent that sets the standard for cases that relate to, or fall under the protection of freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment. This paper examines such cases and focuses on one case that did not fall under its protection: Rice v. Paladin Enterprises (1997), also known as "The Hit Man" case. This paper concentrates on what distinguished both these cases from each other in order to make one fall under the protection of freedom of speech of the First Amendment and the other not.

From the Paper:

"On October 26th 1984 a 19 year- old boy named John Mc Collum shot himself and died while he was listening to the recorded song of the rock singer Ozzy Osbourne. He was found dead with the headphones still on and had been listening to the lyrics of the song called "Suicide Solution" which followed:
"Ah know people
You really know where it's at
You got it
Why try, why try
Get the gun and try it
Shoot, shoot, shoot" (as cited in Mc Collum v. CBS Inc., 1988)
The family of the boy sued CBS Records and Ozzy Osbourne holding them responsible for the suicide; the Superior Court of Los Angeles County dismissed the case. The Court of Appeal affirmed."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S.1827 (1969).
• Hess v. Indiana, 414 U.S. 105 (1973).
• Mc Collum v. CBS, Inc., 249 Cal. Rptr. 187 ( Cal. Ct. App.1988).
• Middleton, K.R., Chamberlin, B.F., & Bunker, M.D. (1997). The law of public communication (4th ed.). New York: Longman.
• Olivia N. v. National Broadcasting Co., Inc., 178 Cal. Rptr. 888 (Cal. App.1981).

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