{"id":2005,"date":"2016-12-03T17:02:05","date_gmt":"2016-12-03T22:02:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/?p=2005"},"modified":"2017-11-20T21:22:36","modified_gmt":"2017-11-21T02:22:36","slug":"how-hamilton-casts-message-to-mike-pence-could-have-faced-punishment-despite-first-amendment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/2016\/12\/03\/how-hamilton-casts-message-to-mike-pence-could-have-faced-punishment-despite-first-amendment\/","title":{"rendered":"How \u2018Hamilton\u2019 Cast\u2019s Message to Mike Pence Could Have Faced Punishment Despite First Amendment"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Image<\/a>
Image courtesy of Pixabay<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Nick Frost, Staff Writer<\/strong><\/p>\n

When Vice President-elect Mike Pence attended the hit Broadway musical \u201cHamilton\u201d on Nov. 18, 2016, he was delivered a message from actor Brandon Victor Dixon, who plays the role of Vice President Aaron Burr:<\/p>\n

\u201cVice President-elect Pence, we welcome you and we truly thank you for joining us here at \u2018Hamilton: An American Musical.\u2019 We really do,\u201d Dixon said. \u201cWe, sir, we, are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us \u2014 our planet, our children, our parents \u2014 or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights, sir. But we truly hope this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us. All of us. Again, we truly thank you for sharing this show, this wonderful American story told by a diverse group of men, women of different colors, creeds and orientations.\u201d[1]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

The following week was full of headlines and reactions about the incident, including from President-elect Donald Trump, Vice President-elect Pence, and several celebrities, such as Viola Davis. These reactions included a demand for an apology for the cast\u2019s harassment,[2]<\/sup><\/a> that the message was \u201cwhat freedom sounds like,\u201d[3]<\/sup><\/a> and a reference to the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution,[4]<\/sup><\/a> which reads:<\/p>\n

\u201cCongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.\u201d[5]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

These words are powerful ones, as they have protected and will continue to protect Americans from government interference in matters of publicly voiced opinions, but this clause does not protect Americans from all penalties for their actions. Free speech protects Americans from being arrested, fined, or otherwise sanctioned by the government for expressing themselves, so long as they do not interfere with others\u2019 rights. But voicing controversial opinions still faces a threat of punishment through actors other than the government.<\/p>\n

[pullquote]We, sir, we, are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us \u2014 our planet, our children, our parents \u2014 or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights, sir.[\/pullquote]<\/p>\n

One example of a recent penalty was the boycott of Chick-Fil-A for its COO Dan T. Cathy\u2019s statements and economic support of groups opposing same-sex marriage[6]<\/sup><\/a>; this caused Chick-Fil-A to change its company platform on its controversial stance.[7]<\/sup><\/a> Another instance involved Donald Sterling \u2014 who lost ownership of the Los Angeles Clippers, was banned from the NBA for life, and was fined $2.5 million, all because of private recordings of controversial statements he made going public.[8]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Everyone in the U.S. has a right to speak their mind, but everyone does not have an inherent right to a job or to have their opinions meet public acceptance. The cast members could have been penalized for the message through their jobs, if they had acted against the wishes of the performance director. (This was not the case, as the director and other members of the show\u2019s staff created the message.[9]<\/sup><\/a>)<\/p>\n

The director could have, for instance, fired the cast members involved in the stunt \u2014 barring protections stated in their contracts. The cast members also could have been considered \u201ccriminal trespassers\u201d[10]<\/sup><\/a> if they were given notice that they were not allowed to act in such a way. In such a case, the cast members could have been fined and possibly jailed up to one year,[11]<\/sup><\/a> again depending on the details of the contract and the extent of the trespass. This shows that this possible legal issue may have more to do with contract law than constitutional law.<\/p>\n

Another form of private punishment could have been through a negative free-market reaction impacting the show\u2019s economic success. (Any protest would be unlikely to cause noticeable harm, however, because of the play\u2019s popularity.) This potential downturn in profits could also put the cast\u2019s employment at risk depending on the language in their contracts.<\/p>\n

There has already been a movement to try and show disagreement with the message, as a paying customer used his time at the musical to protest.[12]<\/sup><\/a> Social media sites have been filled with various reactions; some people voiced their disagreement, with others accidentally directing their comments toward the wrong group.[13]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

The majority of these reactions, both negative and positive, would fall under the same restrictions as the \u201cHamilton\u201d message and other forms of speech in a private setting. In America, citizens have freedom of speech without government interference, but this does not protect those citizens from other possible consequences. All citizens need to be conscious of the risks they take.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

[1]<\/a> http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/11\/19\/us\/mike-pence-hamilton.html<\/a><\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/onpolitics\/2016\/11\/19\/mike-pence-hamilton-broadway-donald-trump\/94113080\/<\/a><\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/arts-and-entertainment\/wp\/2016\/11\/20\/pence-says-he-wasnt-offended-by-hamilton-as-trump-continues-to-demand-an-apology\/<\/a><\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> http:\/\/www.providencejournal.com\/news\/20161121\/amid-hamilton-debate-viola-davis-posts-1st-amendment-reminder–poll<\/a><\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> USCS Const. Amend. 1<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> http:\/\/www.christianpost.com\/news\/chick-fil-a-president-says-gods-judgment-coming-because-of-same-sex-marriage-78485\/#SUuZKIURo5MhCW2p.99<\/a><\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> http:\/\/radio.foxnews.com\/toddstarnes\/top-stories\/chick-fil-a-president-says-company-opposes-gay-marriage.html<\/a><\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> http:\/\/time.com\/81170\/donald-sterling-los-angeles-clippers-nba-adam-silver\/<\/a><\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/11\/19\/us\/mike-pence-hamilton.html<\/a><\/p>\n

[10]<\/a> http:\/\/www.nycourts.gov\/judges\/cji\/2-PenalLaw\/140\/140-15.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

[11]<\/a> https:\/\/www.avvo.com\/legal-answers\/ny-criminal-code–punishment-and-sentence-for-2nd–9184.html<\/a><\/p>\n

[12]<\/a> http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-3954866\/Pro-Trump-protester-interrupts-performance-Hamilton-Chicago.html<\/a><\/p>\n

[13]<\/a> http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/thetwo-way\/2016\/11\/24\/503270839\/the-room-where-it-didnt-happen-a-case-of-mistaken-hamilton-identity?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=2051<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  By Nick Frost, Staff Writer When Vice President-elect Mike Pence attended the hit Broadway musical \u201cHamilton\u201d on Nov. 18, 2016, he was delivered a message from actor Brandon Victor Dixon, who plays the role of Vice President Aaron Burr: \u201cVice President-elect Pence, we welcome you and we truly thank [\u2026] <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,4],"tags":[1131,1142,1139,1144,1145,501,131,1141,1140,108,1138,1137,1129,1132,1143,1136,1133,1130,1134,1135],"class_list":["post-2005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-juris-blog","category-posts","tag-cast","tag-chick-fil-a","tag-criminal-trespass","tag-dan-t-cathy","tag-donald-sterling","tag-employment","tag-employment-law","tag-fired","tag-firing","tag-first-amendment","tag-free-market","tag-free-speech","tag-hamilton","tag-hamilton-musical","tag-los-angeles-clippers","tag-michael-pence","tag-mike-pence","tag-theater","tag-vice-president","tag-vice-president-elect"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2005"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2043,"href":"https:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2005\/revisions\/2043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}