So holds Teesdale v. City of Chicago (N.D. Ill. May 26, 2011) (earlier ruling here), in a decision that is much like the one in the Dearborn, Michigan incident, though of course with a different religious group as the target: Plaintiffs … alleged that defendants interfered with their distribution of religious literature and related proselytizing […]
Archive | “Hate Speech”
$14,000 Fine (Plus Order to Apologize) in South Africa for Anti-Homosexuality Op-Ed and Cartoon
The story (which, among other things, argued that the South African Constitution should be changed to reject same-sex marriage rights) and cartoon (which suggested that recognition of same-sex marriage would logically justify recognition of human-animal marriage) are here. The account of the court decision is in the Mail & Guardian; here’s an excerpt: Former Sunday […]
ACLU Fighting Attempts to Suppress Anti-Islam Speech
By Eugene Volokh on April 22, 2011 11:29 pm in "Hate Speech", Blasphemy, Freedom of Speech, Religion and the Law
By the way, I should stress — especially given the criticism that I’ve seen of the ACLU from some commenters — that ACLU chapters deserve praise for defending the anti-Islam speech in the two incidents I blogged about today: The blocking of Terry Jones’ planned demonstration outside a Dearborn, Michigan mosque, and the firing of […]
[UPDATED TITLE:] Terry Jones Jailed, Apparently for Refusing to Promise Not to Demonstrate in Front of a Mosque [STILL FURTHER UPDATE: Released From Jail, Ordered to Stay Away from Mosque]
By Eugene Volokh on April 22, 2011 7:19 pm in "Hate Speech", Blasphemy, Freedom of Speech, Religion and the Law
[Original title: Dearborn Jury Holds Terry Jones May Be Barred from Organizing Rally Outside Mosque.] So reports the Detroit Free Press: A Dearborn jury just sided with prosecutors, ruling that Terry Jones and Wayne Sapp would breach the peace if they rallied at the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn. Judge Mark Somers will now […]
Jury Trial Tomorrow About Whether Koran-Burning Pastor Has to Post a Bond for Security Costs Related to His Planned Rally
The Detroit Free-Press reports: Florida Pastor Terry Jones is expected to appear in court this morning for a jury trial that will determine whether he can hold a rally at the largest mosque in the city…. Jones appeared in court Thursday and refused to post a bond for the massive security effort Dearborn says it […]
Journalists Apparently Being Investigated for “Denigration of Greek National Symbols”
Another charge appears to be defamation — as best I can tell, of the country of Greece generally. From Spiegel Online: It was supposed to be a provocative piece of journalism and a tongue-in-cheek comment on German concerns about a European Union bailout for debt-ridden Greece. But the Feb. 22, 2010 cover of the weekly […]
Law Professor Calls for Ban on Koran Burning
See this article by Prof. Liaquat Ali Khan (Washburn University School of Law), who also supports broader bans on “defamation of religions”; thanks to Peter Wizenberg for the pointer.
British Koran-Burning Prosecution Dropped, But Apparently Only Temporarily
The Daily Mail (U.K.) reports: A British National Party election candidate [Sion Owens] accused of publicly burning a copy of the Koran was freed today when the charge against him was unexpectedly dropped…. It is understood that his release was due to a technicality regarding the Act under which he was arrested and charged. An […]
Judge Punishing Juror for Making Racist Comments on Questionnaire?
[See UPDATE for later developments.] The Daily News reports: An incensed federal judge sentenced a racist Brooklyn woman to indefinite jury duty on Tuesday after she trashed the NYPD and minorities. “This is an outrage, and so are you!” Federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis told the woman, holding up her bile-filled juror questionnaire…. Asked to name […]
“Dutch Court Orders Resumption of Wilders Race Hate Trial”
By Eugene Volokh on March 31, 2011 5:03 pm in "Hate Speech", Freedom of Speech, Religion and the Law
Deutsche Welle has the most detailed account that I’ve seen in any professional media source. Some excerpts: Wilders is charged with five counts of offending and inciting hatred against Muslims and groups of non-Western origin, particularly Moroccans…. He has likened Islam to fascism and made comparisons between the Muslim holy book, the Koran, and Hitler’s […]
Bus System Barred (at Least Temporarily) from Excluding “Leaving Islam?” Ad
This happened in American Freedom Defense Initiative v. Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) (E.D. Mich., decided today). The ad said, “Fatwa on your head? Is your family or community threatening you? Leaving Islam? Got questions? Get answers!,” and included the Web site address “RefugeFromIslam.com.” SMART — the Detroit-area public transportation system — rejected […]
Thugs Win Again
The Mansfield North Central Ohio Tea Party Association was planning to have a meeting featuring an anti-Islam (and, by some accounts, anti-Muslim) speaker. As usual, the meeting would be at the Mansfield High School in Mansfield, Ohio: The high school opens its meeting rooms to “any recognized political party or organization for the purpose of […]
Seventh Circuit Reaffirms High School Students’ Rights to Wear “Be Happy, Not Gay” T-Shirts
The opinion is Zamecnik v. Indian Prairie School Dist. #204 (decided today) (Posner, J.), and it reaffirms the panel’s decision in an earlier phase of the case. On balance the opinion seems slightly more speech protective than the earlier one, because it doesn’t rely on Morse v. Frederick (as the earlier opinion did in some […]
Blasphemy Conviction in Austria
Nina Shea (The Corner) reports: Today, Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff, a young Viennese mother, was convicted under section 283 of the Austrian penal code of vilifying religious teachings for her negative commentary on Islam in a lecture before a political-party gathering in Vienna; she was fined 480 Euros. Sabaditsch-Wolff, a diplomat’s daughter, had lived and worked for […]
Danish Member of Parliament (Jesper Langballe) Guilty of “Insult[ing] or Denigrat[ing]” Muslims
Here are the views that it is a crime in Denmark to express (according to Danish Free Press Society and IceNews): Of course Lars Hedegaard shouldn’t have said that there are Muslim fathers who rape their daughters when the truth instead seems to be that they make do with killing daughters (so-called honour killings) –- […]