Archive for ‘Free Speech’

Say that the Westboro Baptist Church comes to a printer — a printer who supports gay rights, or who is gay himself, or who just thinks the Westboro belief system is appalling — and demands that he print a “Westboro Baptist Church Pride” T-shirt. Should the government be able to punish the printer for refusing, on the theory that this constituted impermissible religious discrimination in public accommodations? More »

No discussion here on what constitutes incitement, but Brandenburg v. Ohio tells us. More »

Family members of three victims of the December 2015 shooting rampage in San Bernardino, California, have sued Facebook, Google and Twitter, claiming that the companies permitted Islamic State to flourish on social media. More »

This is an old story (2012), but I was reminded of it by a decision in Florida about whether a dairy couldn’t call its skim milk “skim milk” unless it added Vitamin A to the skim milk. More »

Heirs to the comedic duo present a “critically important” question about a “new rule” robbing contributors to old movies of ownership rights. More »

Last week, the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a tattoo shop owner had standing to challenge Long Beach, California’s zoning regulations. More »

“Hate speech is not protected by the first amendment,” says the former Vermont governor and presidential candidate. The Supreme Court, liberals and conservatives alike, has taken a different view. More »

It may well be constitutionally unprotected solicitation of crime, though the law in this area is vague. More »

In April 2010, Lester Packingham’s traffic ticket was dismissed, prompting him to take to Facebook to celebrate. He posted that “God is Good! How about I got so much favor they dismissed the ticket before court even started? No fine, no court costs, no nothing spent . . . Praise be to GOD, WOW! Than More »

The case was brought by IMDb, the move site. More »