I had thought that criminal libel laws, which apparently still exist in about one-third of the states, were nonetheless almost never used. But a quick search through the Westlaw criminal records database reveals about 200 criminal libel prosecutions in Virginia from 2001 until 2008. Here’s the relevant statute: Any person who shall falsely utter and […]
Archive | Freedom of Speech
Connecticut “Racial Ridicule” Statute
Connecticut General Statutes § 53-37 provides, Any person who, by his advertisement, ridicules or holds up to contempt any person or class of persons, on account of the creed, religion, color, denomination, nationality or race of such person or class of persons, shall be fined not more than fifty dollars or imprisoned not more than […]
Could Students Be Suspended for “Beat the Jew” Game
The AP reports: Seven seniors at a Southern California high school were facing disciplinary action [including being suspended or barred from graduation] for participating in a game called “Beat the Jew” in which losers were subjected to “incineration” or “enslavement,” a school administrator said Friday. The game involved some students playing the role of Nazis […]
The Deep Roots of Constitutional Constraints on Speech-Based Civil Liability
I just circulated to the journals this 4-page law review article, and I thought I’d also quote it in this post; to see the footnotes, please see the PDF. Does the First Amendment limit common-law tort liability? New York Times Co. v. Sullivan said yes, but some argue this is a modern innovation. The Court’s […]
Maine and Virginia AGs’ Statements on Not Supporting the 48 State AGs’ Brief in Snyder v. Phelps
[UPDATE: I had originally just posted about the Virginia statement, because I had seen a news report that said that the Maine AG simply had a policy of not taking sides in civil cases, presumably meaning out-of-state cases; but commenter Postscript pointed out that the Maine AG also relied on free speech concerns, so I […]
State Attorneys General Argue that Non-Media Speakers Should Get Less First Amendment Protection than Media Speakers
From the amicus brief for 48 states plus D.C. supporting Snyder in Snyder v. Phelps: No decision of [the Supreme] Court has ever exempted a non-media defendant from generally applicable state tort law on First Amendment grounds. That assertion is factually mistaken: NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co., 458 U.S. 886 (1982), held that non-media defendants […]
Latest Mohammed Cartoon Controversy, this Time in South Africa
By Eugene Volokh on May 27, 2010 7:54 pm in "Hate Speech", Freedom of Speech, Mohammed Cartoons, Religion and the Law
The cartoon — Mohammed on a couch, complaining that “OTHER prophets have followers with a sense of humour!” (apparently referring to the controversy over Everybody Draw Muhammad Day — is here; it was published in the Mail & Guardian last Friday. The South African Council of Muslim Theologians tried to enjoin the publication of the […]
Short Essay on Snyder v. Phelps, Part V: The Intrusion Upon Seclusion Tort
For more about the essay (for an online symposium), see here; to read the full 9 pages, see here. This week, I’m posting (and combining using the Snyder v. Phelps tag) some passages: Earlier, I blogged about Hustler v. Falwell and why it applies here, as well as about the arguments that the liability in […]
Short Essay on Snyder v. Phelps, Part IV: The Libel Analogy, and the Public/Private Figure Distinction
For more about the essay (for an online symposium), see here; to read the full 9 pages, see here. This week, I’m posting (and combining using the Snyder v. Phelps tag) some passages: Earlier, I blogged about Hustler v. Falwell and why it applies here, as well as about the arguments that the liability in […]
Short Essay on Snyder v. Phelps, Part III: The Plaintiffs’ (not the Phelpsians’) Religious Freedom Argument
For more about the essay (for an online symposium), see here; to read the full 9 pages, see here. This week, I’m posting (and combining using the Snyder v. Phelps tag) more passages: Earlier, I blogged about Hustler v. Falwell and why it applies here, as well as about the argument that the liability in […]
Short Essay on Snyder v. Phelps, Part II: Proximity to a Funeral, and Time, Place, or Manner Restrictions
For more about the essay (for an online symposium), see here; to read the full 9 pages, see here. This week, I’m posting (and combining using the Snyder v. Phelps tag) more passages: Yesterday, I blogged about Hustler v. Falwell and why it applies here; later this week, I’ll also blog on the Snyders’ religious […]
RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty Interview with “Draw Muhammad Day” Group Administrator
It’s here; very interesting.
Freedom of Speech and the Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress Tort
Cardozo Law Review‘s de•novo online supplement is doing a symposium on the forthcoming Snyder v. Phelps case, and I agreed to write a short (9-page) essay expressing my views. This is by design a short and therefore somewhat cursory treatment; I wouldn’t have had time to write a more detailed one, and in any event […]
Just What Speech Does “Hostile Environment Harassment” Law Restrict?
I’ve argued in some of the posts below that it’s a lot — including statements that by themselves don’t satisfy the criteria for liability, but that reasonable employers have to suppress in order to prevent liability. For a pretty detailed explanation (and lots of citations) as to workplace harassment law, see here. I wrote it […]
The Ninth Circuit Rodriguez Opinion and Speech in Non-Academic Workplaces
By Eugene Volokh on May 20, 2010 5:01 pm in "Hate Speech", Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Speech at Colleges and Universities
I explain below why the Ninth Circuit’s Rodriguez decision applies to harassment lawsuits brought against private employers. Here I’d like to explain why and how it would apply to non-academic employers. Rodriguez does say that its First Amendment analysis, and its statement that “Without the right to stand against society’s most strongly-held convictions, the marketplace […]