Books by Randall P. Bezanson

In How Free Can the Press Be? Randall P. Bezanson explores contradictions embedded in understanding press freedom in America by discussing nine of the most pivotal and provocative First Amendment cases in U.S. judicial history.

Expanding the freedom of speech beyond strictly speaking

Art on trial: exploring the Supreme Court's rulings on free expression

Demonstrates that speech is a more complicated and dynamic notion than we often assume. This book covers issues such as government restrictions on hate speech and obscene and indecent speech; the constitutionality of campaign finance reform; and the treatment to be accorded new technologies of communication under the Constitution.

In Taxes on Knowledge in America, Randall P. Bezanson explores the extent to which the publication and distribution of current public information is effected by economic exactions. The book begins with a brief overview of the English history and experience with knowledge taxes, before turning to a discussion of knowledge taxes in America from colonial times to the present. In addition to covering traditional printed publications, Bezanson looks at recent developments in broadcast and cable telecommunications, devotes a chapter to the history of the postal system, and gleans insight from three benchmark Supreme Court decisions. Bezanson provocatively concludes that knowledge is common property and knowledge taxes should be measured by their impact on the diversity of ideas and availability of information throughout society.

Explores the Supreme Court's varied history of interpreting the religious guarantees outlined in the First Amendment. This book discusses eight provocative Supreme Court decisions to track the evolution of Free Exercise and Establishment Clause doctrine.