by Erwin Chemerinsky The Supreme Court long has said that “true threats” are not protected by the First Amendment, but what is a true threat? Although the issue is not new, social media has exponentially increased instances of speech that is perceived as threatening. Not ...
Monongalia County is moving ahead with plans to restrict panhandling. The proposed ordinance would make it unlawful to ask for money or distribute materials to “the drivers of motor vehicles or their passengers … on highways within the unincorporated areas of the county.” ...
by Gene Policinski When it comes to your core freedoms, which would you rather wield to protect them: a sword or a shield? The 45 words of the First Amendment haven’t changed since it was adopted in 1791, but how those five freedoms are interpreted and applied is shifting — ...
by Ronald Collins and Ronnie Marmo On Nov. 24, 1964, the Illinois Supreme Court did what no other state high court had ever done — it vindicated Lenny Bruce’s free speech right to perform provocative routines in comedy clubs. But the freewheeling comedian was not so lucky in New ...
Officials at Stanford University could learn something from the New York City Police Department about defending free speech while maintaining order. When hecklers prevented an invited speaker from addressing an audience at Stanford’s law school, what could have been a peaceful protest ...
by Nicholas Goldberg When I write critical columns about U.S. policies and politics, I occasionally strike a nerve and get enraged letters from readers denouncing me as a traitor or suggesting I am providing grist for our nation’s enemies. I’ve been told, for instance, ...