Distinguishing Speech from Conduct

Abstract

In this article, Professor Loewy walks readers through the history of unprotected verbal speech and protected symbolic speech under Supreme Court rulings on the First Amendment. He first discusses the different classifications of verbal speech, including words as conduct, “fighting words,” and “insulting words,” and analyzes their respective treatments by the Court in historical and modern cases. He then looks at the rationale and methodology employed by the Court in protecting symbolic speech under the First Amendment.