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theirownpointofviewandconsiderallthepossiblearguments
thatcouldberaisedineachcase.
ThestudyofAmericancasespertainingtothefreedomofspeech
andfreedomofreligionisagoodintroductiontocommonlawand
thelegalmethodsofAmericancourtsaswellasAmericanlegal
language.Issuesrelatedtofreedomofreligionandfreedomof
speecharewell-knowneventotheaveragefreshman,therefore
everyonecanformhisorherownopiniononhowaconflict
shouldorcouldberesolvedbyacourt.Sentencespassedbythe
SupremeCourtoftheUnitedStatesareextremelyconvenientfor
encouragingsuchdebate.TheCourt’sopinion,whichisusually
extensiveandconsidersalltheimportantfactualandlegalissues
ofthecase,isoftenaccompaniedbytheconcurringanddissenting
opinionsofthejustices.
Theseopinionsillustratealmostall
thepossiblewaysofinterpretingacaseandappearinstructive
notonlyfromtheperspectiveofacquaintancewithaparticular
lineofprecedence.Theyprovideuswithageneraleducationin
Americanlawandthejurisprudentialframeworkthatcouldbe
appliedtoanylegalsystemwherelibertiesneedtobeprotected.
ThedecisionstakenbytheCourt–betheypositiveornegative
–areanexampletoEuropeanlawyers.Eventhoughthisbook
islargelya‘cutandpaste’ofcases,itstillpresentstheauthor’s
pointofview.Theselectedcasesandchoiceoftextsreflectshis
perceptionofthecomplexissuesrelatedtofreedomofspeechand
religiousfreedom.Idecidedtocitecasesthatcouldbeofinterest
andusetoEuropeanlawyers.ButIhaveendeavouredtopresent
tothemasimpartiallyaspossible,thequestionsandproblems
thatariseinAmericanlaw,andtomakethisbookaboutthework
oftheSupremeCourtastheguardianoftheFirstAmendment
andnotaboutmyunderstandingofit.
Theproblemsandchallengestothesetwofreedomsarealmostthe
sameonbothsidesoftheAtlanticOcean.Itmaysometimesbe
easiertodiscussthembasedonAmerican,i.e.seeminglydistant
examples,thanoncurrentissuesthatgiverisetostrongemotions.
‘TheAmericanexample’thusbecomesaparableofthelawand
offreedom,particularlyofthefreedomofspeechandfreedomof
religion.Itisaparablethatcanbeeitherunderstoodorignored.
FranciszekLongchampsdeBérier
Wrocław,25May2012
10Preface
