A federal judge dealt a blow to a Texas law that banned state agencies from doing business with contractors boycotting Israel. A Texas speech pathologist contested the law after her school contract required her to sign an agreement not to boycott Israel. She claimed the law violated her free speech rights. (The Texas Tribune, April 26, 2019, by Elizabeth Byrne)
In issuing a temporary injunction against the law, Judge Robert Pittman found that since a boycott was inherently expressive activity, it was protected by the First Amendment. He also ruled that the law was viewpoint and content discriminatory rather than aimed at government speech that could be regulated. Pittman argued that the law targeted specific speech so Texas was wrong in its stance that the law was an “incidental burden.” He stated that since the law was not fueled by a compelling state interest, it was not exempt from a First Amendment attack. (Constitutional Law Prof Blog, April 26, 2019, by Ruthann Robson)
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