Justice Clarence Thomas has a mixed record when it comes to freedom of speech. Sometimes, Thomas will write an opinion that leaves First Amendment advocates cheering. But other times, he will write one that leaves the same advocates scowling. Friday was a scowling sort of day. Writing for a 6-3 Supreme Court majority in Free […]
What are the First Amendment rights of minors? You might imagine two extreme positions: Minors have the same rights as adults. Friendly amendment: Restrictions on their rights have to be judged under the same tests (such as “strict scrutiny”) applicable to restrictions on adults’ rights, even if the tests might sometimes practically play out slightly […]
The majority in today’s Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton began with the established principle (see Justice Brennan’s majority opinion in Ginsberg v. N.Y. (1968)) that certain material may be constitutionally protected for adults but unprotected when distributed to minors: When regulating minors’ access to sexual content, the State may broaden Miller‘s “definition of obscenity” to […]
Today’s majority upholds an age verification requirement for online porn, which is of course the more speech-restrictive option in this case. And it upholds the law by concluding that the “strict scrutiny” test—which the Court generally uses to evaluate content-based restrictions on speech that falls outside the First Amendment exceptions—doesn’t apply to such age verification […]
A nice touch, I thought, in Justice Kagan’s dissent in today’s Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton: To account for that concession in its analysis—and yet avoid strict scrutiny, as it wishes—the majority relies on a well-known distinction in Firs Read More Article from Reason.com Reason MagazineThe Reason Magazine website is a go-to destination for libertarians […]
From today’s majority opinion by Justice Thomas in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton: Age-verification laws like H. B. 1181 fall within States’ authority to shield children from sexually explicit content. The First Amendment leaves undisturbed States’ traditional power to prevent minors from accessing speech that is obscene from their perspective. Ginsberg v. New York (1968). […]
From yesterday’s decision by Judge Colleen Lawless (C.D. Ill.) in Doe v. Bd. of Trustees of Univ. of Illinois: In his complaint, Plaintiff seeks relief under Title IX and other theories following his suspension from the Carle Illinois College of Medicine at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign following the University’s determination that he was […]
From the Florida Supreme Court’s opinion yesterday in Florida Bar v. Girley: Jerry is the managing partner of the Girley Law Firm, and Brooke, who is Jerry’s daughter, holds an “of counsel” position at the firm. In 2021, Jerry represented Baiywo Rop in a civil lawsuit against Adventist Health System before the Ninth Judicial Circuit. […]
In a Monday announcement, several U.S. embassies stated that student visa applicants will be required to turn the settings on their social media accounts to “public” in order to facilitate scrutiny of their posts, presumably for ideological screening. The change is part of a recent string of crackdowns on international students, which has targeted many […]
Each June, Pride Month turns our public spaces into sites of celebration and remembrance. But Pride is not just a cultural event; it is a constitutional exercise. At its core, Pride embodies the freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment: speech, assembly, press, and petition. Expressive acts of defiance wrote the history of LGBTQ+ rights in […]