J385 Communication Law - Final Exam - Winter 97
Note: This seems to the quarter in which I give away points! The final should have been worth 160 points. Consider the extra 20 points a bonus. Deadline: 8:00 a.m., Friday, March 21. No late exams will be accepted. If your exam is not in by the deadline, you will receive a failing grade of "0" for the final exam. We will accept exams before the deadline during finals week! GRADING: We expect complete, concise, organized answers (ONE page should be adequate). You should be able to answer the questions using the book, the J385 Web site, and lecture notes; however, you are welcomed to use other authorities should you think it worthwhile. A premium will be placed on accuracy, precision and the application of the appropriate legal standards and concepts to the questions presented. Answers that are "sort of" right will receive few points. The questions are intended to be ambiguous. In some instances it may be quite possible to reach different conclusions concerning the outcome of a given fact situation. We are most interested in the reasoning you use to reach a conclusion. Put maximum effort into clearing explaining the law and logic you use to reach your conclusion. The Rules: You are free to discuss the questions with other members of the class. Friends (especially law students), parents, lawyers and others shall not be consulted. Once you are ready to write your answers, please do it alone without any help from others. I will be available to discuss general questions about the class material. I will not answer any question directly related to a specific fact situation in the exam, except to clarify the facts. If you have questions, please ask, but I reserve the right to decline to answer.
1.[20 pts] A "COP VIDEO" camera crew got a tip that a police narcotics squad planned to raid the home of Harry and Diane Deal. In the hopes of getting the raid on tape, a camera crew went to the Deal's house, arriving at the same time as the police. As the police broke down the front door of the house the camera crew followed them into the Deal's living room. The crew got pictures of the police with guns drawn ordering the Deal's and several friends to lay down on the floor. The faces of all the suspects were clearly visible. The photographers continued to shoot video after Harry Deal ordered them to "turn the cameras off and get out of my house." They turned off the cameras and left only when the police ordered them out of the house. When the police led the Deal's and their friends out of the house in handcuffs, the crew shot video of the scene from the street outside the house. A ten-second clip from the"DONE DEAL" segment showing the raid and arrest at the Deal house was used in promotional spots for COP VIDEO on television stations around the country and the segment aired on COP VIDEO three weeks later. The next day the Deals filed an intrusion suit against the television show and all members of the camera crew. At the same time the Deals filed appropriation and publication of private facts suits. Is it likely that any of the suits will be successful? YES or NO? EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWER. 2. [20 pts] Wired World Magazine (WWM) published a story titled, "MAD MAX -- THE NUTTY PROFESSOR." The story profiled Max Magic, a tenured professor in the Anywhere University School of Journalism and Communication. Magic has developed quite a following and a reputation for eccentric behavior as a result of his wild lecturing style, long curly hair and his fondness for plaid pants and wildly colored jackets. During his lectures Magic paces back and forth in the front of the classroom gesturing madly. His trademark gesture is to dramatically turn toward the students throw his hands up in the air and yell, "So, what do you think!" Hours before the magazine was to go to press, the editor decided the picture of Magic selected for the magazine cover lacked dramatic impact. He discussed the problem with the photo editor who said it was the best shot of Magic in the files. The editor said, "Well, this won't do. You'll have to come up with a better shot." It was too late to take new pictures, so the photo editor started looking through the photo files. He didn't find any pictures of Magic but he found a photo of a clown in a pose very similar to Magic's signature gesture. He ran to the computer and after a half hour of digital manipulation, there was a new photograph of Max Magic in his signature pose standing in a classroom wearing a clown suit. Dropped into the photo as it appeared on the cover was the headline "MAD MAX -- THE NUTTY PROFESSOR." Magic was deeply offended by the magazine cover. He filed a false light suit against WWM. He claimed that he never wore a clown suit to class; that the cover was embarassing and therefore highly offensive; and that the digital manipulation was a clear example of actual malice. Is it likely that the suit will be successful? YES or NO? EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWER. 3.[20 pts] Frank Flack is a public relations professional in Oregon. Two years ago he met with representatives of the Anytown Party, an annual three-day celebration held in Anytown in the late summer. The committee was trying to develop a marketing and public relations campaign for the Party. Flack gave the committee a detailed 40-page plan that included a copyright notice. Flack proposed that the committee develop a slogan. "Anytown is Great!" was his suggestion. He also suggested that they get corporate sponsors, have balloons and fliers designed and develop a television ad campaign. His plan even included a color scheme for the Party and several sample print ads. The committee took Flack's plan and thanked him for meeting with them. A year later the committee launched a campaign that included all of Flack's suggestions. They had a slogan -- Anytown is Perfect! -- several corporate sponsors, a blue and white color scheme, balloons, fliers and an ad campaign. Several of the print ads had a "feel" similar to the ads in Flack's proposal. Flack wants to bring an copyright infringment suit. What will he have to do in order to bring suit? Is it likely that the suit will be successful? YES or NO? EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWER. 4.[30 pts] Congress is considering the Youth Protection From Tobacco Addiction Act of 1997. Identify the parts of the act that are vulnerable to a First Amendment challenge and briefly explain why. If you think no parts of the act raise First Amendment questions, explain why these types of limits on commercial speech do not violate the First Amendment. 5. [30 pts] The government argues, in part, that the Communication Decency Act's indecent speech provisions are constitutional because:
Briefly explain the strongest arguments that could be used to counter the government's position. 6. [15 pts] As a result of controversy over some of the political ads in the 1996 election, KUAK-TV's advertising department decided that it is going to review and edit all political advertising in the 1996 campaign season. If political advertisers refuse to allow the station to edit the ads, then the station will not run them. When Vicky Votegetter, a candidate for U.S. Congress, learns of KUAK's new political advertising review policy she informs the station that it must accept her ads and run them as submitted. Is Votegetter right? Is the station required to accept and run her ads without editing? YES OR NO? EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWER.
7. [15 pts] STUFFIT TRASHBAGS, a new product in the trash bag market, is advertised as being "the First Environmentally Safe Trash bag. It's Photodegradable!" An environmental marketing watchdog group files a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission charging that the ad campaign is deceptive.
8. [15 pts] The Acme Oil Co. is marketing a new gasoline called "Acme 107." The advertising for Acme 107 claims that "the high octane rating of the gasoline plus a secret additive designed by our research division guarantee better gas mileage." To substantiate the claim of better gas mileage, the company provided test results from three different scientific tests using special test cars driving on a test track. In test drives in which highly trained test car drivers ran the test cars at 55 miles per hour for six hours without stopping the cars achieved a higher miles-per-gallon than the most recent national averages reported by the federal government.
9. [15 pts] Morality in Broadcasting filed an indecency complaint against KWAK-FM. In a morning news broadcast reporting on the criminal trial of a reputed organized crime boss, the station included a 45-second section of tape from the trial in which the crime boss repeatedly used vulgar language. Citing Pacifica v. FCC, the complaint alleges that the language was indecent for broadcast during the morning since many children would be in the listening audience.
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