First Amendment News

Legal scholar David Han, SSRN, April 8, 2022, argues that the compelled speech doctrine has only been made more murky by recent Supreme Court decisions. The doctrine is also notable for its fluidity so that courts can “justify a wide range of disparate results.” Under the compelled speech doctrine, the First Amendment limits the government in requiring people to voice or advocate government messages. For related FAC coverage, click here, here and here.

Tony Mauro in Freedom Forum, June 9, 2022, cites a study by two legal scholars finding that the Roberts court has scant interest in defending the free press as a cornerstone of our democracy. RonNell Andersen Jones and Sonja West analyzed Supreme Court mentions of the press from 1784 and notes a precipitous drop in mentions of the press and and a lack of respect in recent Court discussions of the media. For related FAC

Florida is expected to file a petition to the Supreme Court to take up a Florida law that prevents social media companies from removing politicians from their platforms. The case is now in federal courts in Florida. (Tampa Bay Times, June 20, 2022, by Jim Saunders of the News Service of Florida) For related FAC coverage, click here, here and here.

In the wake of the mass shooting of school children and teachers in Uvalde, Texas, authorities are using the “Dead Suspect Loophole” to prevent access to public records in search of the truth about police conduct. The suspect died in police custody so the police can claim that a criminal case is pending and deny access. Faced with stonewalling on the investigation, public trust is in jeopardy. (Houston Public Media, June 14, 2022, by David

Two high school teachers, a professor and a kindergartner filed a federal lawsuit to prevent Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s Stop Woke Act from taking effect July 1. According to the lawsuit, the act would allow the state to prohibit certain speech and provides only vague standards that can be used to silence speech on political topics. DeSantis says he wants to prevent indoctrination in Florida. To that end he has already passed a law that