That’s the order that a Wisconsin court issued in telling an ex-wife that she may not speak online about her ex-husband (emphasis in original). A similar order (though only for four years, and not “ever again”) was issued barring the ex-wife from speaking online about her ex-husband’s lawyer. The ex-wife apparently violated the order, and […]
Archive | Freedom of Speech
Planning to Burn a Koran = $200,000 Bill from the Government for Policing Costs?
By Eugene Volokh on September 17, 2010 5:01 pm in "Hate Speech", Freedom of Speech, Religion and the Law
The Gainesville Sun reports: The cost of policing the Dove World Outreach Center for the planned Quran burning that never happened is expected to come to about $100,000 each for the Gainesville Police Department and the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, officials say. And Gainesville City Manager Russ Blackburn said the city intends to present a […]
First Amendment Scholars’ Amicus Brief in the Violent Video Games Case
I’m pleased to report that Don Falk, Rita Lomio, and I are filing today an amicus brief in the Court’s forthcoming violent video games case (Schwarzenegger v. Entertainment Merchants Ass’n), on behalf of Profs. David Cole, Ken Karst, David Post, Martin Redish, William Van Alstyne, Jonathan Varat, and Adam Winkler. The brief aims to distinguish […]
Justice Breyer Clarifies Earlier Remarks, Suggests Koran-Burning Is Constitutionally Protected After All
Josh Gerstein (Politico) has transcripts of Breyer’s Good Morning America remarks, which seemed to suggest that Koran-burning might be constitutionally unprotected, but also his more recent Larry King Live remarks, which pretty strongly suggest that Koran-burning is indeed constitutionally protected. To recap, the earlier remarks were ambiguous. Stephanopoulos asked whether globalization and the Internet, and […]
Advertisement Banned in the UK Because of Blasphemy
By Eugene Volokh on September 16, 2010 11:42 am in Blasphemy, Freedom of Speech, Religion and the Law
From the UK Advertising Standards Authority: A magazine ad for Antonio Federici ice cream showed a heavily pregnant woman dressed as a nun standing in a church holding a tub of ice cream in one hand and a spoon in the other. Text stated “Immaculately Conceived … ICE CREAM IS OUR RELIGION”…. Ten readers challenged […]
New Jersey Public Transit Employee Fired for Blasphemy
By Eugene Volokh on September 15, 2010 1:55 am in "Hate Speech", Blasphemy, Freedom of Speech, Religion and the Law
The New York Daily News reports: [Derek Fenton, t]he protester who burned pages from the Koran outside a planned mosque near Ground Zero has been fired from NJTransit, sources and authorities said Tuesday…. “Mr. Fenton’s public actions violated New Jersey Transit’s code of ethics,” an agency statement said. “NJ Transit concluded that Mr. Fenton violated […]
Queensland University Suspends Lawyer for YouTube-Distributed Blasphemy
By Eugene Volokh on September 14, 2010 2:23 pm in "Hate Speech", Atheism, Blasphemy, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Speech at Colleges and Universities, Religion and the Law, Religious Freedom
The Brisbane Times reports that: A Queensland University of Technology lawyer[,] … Alex Stewart[,] has taken leave from his non-academic position as a QUT [Queensland University of Technology] commercial contracts lawyer after controversy erupted over a YouTube clip in which he smokes self-made cigarettes rolled in pages from the [Koran and the Bible] before rating […]
Cardozo Law Review en banc Online Symposium on Snyder v. Phelps Is Now Up
The Cardozo Law Review en banc online symposium on Snyder v. Phelps is now up here. The symposium includes articles by authors — including me — on both sides of the issue; check it out if you’re interested in the case.
Administration Tells Regulated Industry That There Will Be “Zero Tolerance” for Alleged “Misinformation” in Industry’s Statements About Government Policy
From the Department of Health & Human Services: Sebelius calls on health insurers to stop misinformation and unjustified rate increases Affordable Care Act will help lower costs and crack down on unjustified rate increases … U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius wrote America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the national association of […]
Court Issues Preliminary Injunction Against Distribution of Political Fliers, a Likely Unconstitutional Prior Restraint
Josh Gerstein (Politico) reports: Acting on an emergency request from Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler, Prince George’s County Circuit Court Judge Larnzell Martin Jr. issued an order Tuesday evening barring anyone from disseminating a sample ballot for the Sept. 14 primary that was recently mailed to Democratic voters and distributed at an early voting site […]
S.F. Municipal Transit Agency Accepts Ad for Gun Rights Conference, Depicting a Woman with a Gun
This is so despite Muni’s earlier refusal to allow a movie ad showing police officers wielding guns, apparently on the grounds that it “appear[ed] to promote the use of firearms.” The new ad, for the Gun Rights Policy Conference does promote the use of firearms. But I’m pleased to say that the Muni took it […]
Koran-Burning Minister and Council on American-Islamic Relations Spokesman Play Into Each Other’s Hands
As I mentioned last week, Terry Jones — a minister at the ironically named Dove World Outreach Center — is organizing a burning of Korans to mark September 11. That strikes me as both largely pointless, non-substantive rudeness (as opposed to fair and substantive criticism of Islam, which would be perfectly proper) and as largely […]
Outdoor Burning of Korans Unlawful, Given the City Fire Code
By Eugene Volokh on August 28, 2010 12:32 pm in "Hate Speech", Freedom of Speech, Religion and the Law
The Gainesville Sun site reports: The city of Gainesville has denied Dove World Outreach Center’s application for a burn permit to set fire to copies of the Quran on Sept. 11, but the church says it plans to burn the holy books anyway. Gene Prince, interim chief of Gainesville Fire Rescue, said Wednesday that under […]
More Punishment for Ethnically Offensive Speech in Europe
Expatica reports: A Dutch appeals court on Thursday fined an Arab organisation in the Netherlands 2,500 euros [with 1,500 euros suspended] for causing “unnecessary offence” in publishing a Holocaust-denying cartoon[, which depicts the Nazi Holocaust as a figment of Jewish imagination]…. “The suggestion that [the Holocaust] may have been contrived or exaggerated by victims is […]
Another Prosecution for Criticism of Religion
By Eugene Volokh on August 25, 2010 11:14 am in "Hate Speech", Freedom of Speech, Religion and the Law, Religious Freedom
The Daily News Egypt reports: Prosecutor General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud on Monday referred the publisher of Islamic books to a State Security Court on charges of contempt of the Christian religion. Publisher Ahmed Abdallah Abo-Islam, was charged for accusing Christians of fabricating the Bible and threatening social stability and security…. In [the complaint that triggered […]