Unaccountable Speech Czars and Their Civility Codes

by Karen Lugo
Family Security Matters
March 23, 2011

https://www.legal-project.org/1233/unaccountable-speech-czars-and-their-civility

Excerpt:

If you thought that the Supreme Court was the final arbiter of free speech, think again. Although the highest court has just affirmed in an 8-1 ruling that speech touching areas of public concern deserves the highest level of protection in furtherance of public debate, local speech police are still busily imposing victim-defined civility codes. There may be no criminal punishment that accompanies a censure from these speech-minders but there certainly is a heaping dose of public approbation and foreseeable damage to reputation and professional standing. Especially when the executive director of the government-appointed commission gratuitously comments for publication that there is an implicit link between your speech – and an ostensible hate crime. An assumption based upon an assumption affords a public official the authority to speculate that you have motivated a hate crime? This kind of unbridled and arbitrary power is chilling and certainly not consistent with the Supreme Court's recent vindication of "free and robust debate of public issues."

Read the complete original version of this item...

receive the latest by email: subscribe to the legal project's free mailing list