Law Review at Washington University in St. Louis

Public Unions Under First Amendment Fire

Tabatha Abu El-Haj

Unions today are under First Amendment fire, with the compelled speech doctrine as the weapon of choice. Conservative interests are waging a legal war against agreements that include “fair-share service fees,” under which public-sector unions are permitted to charge nonunion…

Candides and Cassandras: Technology and Free Speech on the Roberts Court

Ashutosh Bhagwat

John Roberts assumed his position as Chief Justice of the United States just prior to the commencement of the October 2005 Term of the Supreme Court. That was seven years after Google was incorporated, one year before Facebook became available…

Four Principles for Digital Expression (You Won't Believe #3!)

Danielle Keats Citron and Neil M. Richards

At the dawn of the Internet’s emergence, the Supreme Court rhapsodized about its potential as a tool for free expression and political liberation. In ACLU v. Reno (1997), the Supreme Court adopted a bold vision of Internet expression to strike…

A Half-Hearted Defense of the Categorical Approach

Chad Flanders

One of Professor Magarian’s more impressive achievements in Managed Speech is paying the Roberts Court the compliment of providing a theory that runs through its various First Amendment cases. The book shows us surprising and hidden connections between disparate opinions…

Public Employee Speech and Magarian’s Dynamic Diversity

Heidi Kitrosser

The Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts has been praised in many quarters as a committed ally of free speech. Certainly, a number of Roberts Court decisions do protect speech. Putting aside the Court’s controversial campaign finance decisions—the merits…

Managing Dissent

Timothy Zick

In his insightful new book, Managed Speech: The Roberts Court’s First Amendment (2017), Professor Greg Magarian criticizes the Roberts Court for adopting a “managed speech” approach in its First Amendment cases. According to Professor Magarian, that approach gives too much…

The View from My Window

Gregory P. Magarian

The experience of writing a book and then reading what some very smart and knowledgeable people have to say about the subject matter is humbling and a little dizzying. In Managed Speech: The Roberts Court’s First Amendment, I try to…

Legal Defiance: Government-Sanctioned Graffiti Walls and the First Amendment

Kelly Oeltjenbruns

The caricature face of Maine Governor Paul LePage, wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood and surrounded by the words homophobe, moron, and racist greeted every passerby of the Portland Water District (PWD) in Portland, Maine on September 6, 2016. The…