Eugene Volokh is the Thomas M. Siebel Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford, and the Gary T. Schwartz Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus and Distinguished Research Professor at UCLA School of Law. Naturally, his posts here (like the opinions of the other bloggers) are his own, and not endorsed by any institution. He is also the co-host of the Free Speech Unmuted podcast.
Eugene Volokh
Latest from Eugene Volokh
A Right to Smile?
No such right is clearly established when it comes to booking mugshots, says a federal district court.
District Court Allows Challenge to School's Locker-Room-of-Your-Choice Policy
The court held that plaintiffs' sexual harassment claims (under Title IX) and religious objection claims (under the Illinois RFRA and under the Free Exercise Clause) could go forward, at least for now.
Application to Release Grand Jury Material Quoted in Mueller Report
Since I've been blogging today about public rights of access to sealed files, I thought I'd pass this along.
Libel Case with the Alleged Libels Under Seal
This violates the First Amendment and common law rights of access to court records, I think; Paul Alan Levy (Public Citizen) has just filed a motion to intervene and unseal in the matter (Shelby Resorts Corp. v. Does, in New Jersey Superior Court).
Waiting-and-Seeing on the Trump Campus Free Speech Executive Order
It's an order to create policies, not a policy -- so it's hard to tell what it will do until we see what policies various departments create.
San Antonio Likely Violating Chick-Fil-A's First Amendment Rights
Its exclusion of Chick-Fil-A from the airport appears to be based on the viewpoint expressed by Chick-Fil-A and various organizations to which it donates.
Right to Possess Stun Guns in N.Y., Right to Carry Them in Illinois
Two Second Amendment wins late last week.
Incitement at 100 -- and 50 -- and Today, at Brooklyn Law School, April 12
A very interesting symposium, with (among many others) Floyd Abrams, Prof. Leslie Kendrick (Virginia), Nadine Strossen (former head of the ACLU), and more.
No, a Web Platform's Decision to Restrict Speech Doesn't Strip It of 47 U.S.C. § 230 Immunity
[UPDATE: Sorry, this was double-posted; please add any comments to the post above.]
Rep. Devin Nunes Seeks Court Order Entirely Suspending @LizNair and Other Accounts
But courts can't order suspension of an entire account even if they find that some posts were libelous.
Rep. Devin Nunes Suing Tweeters for "Insulting Words," Claiming the Insults Caused $250M of Damage to Him
This is besides the libel claims he is bringing against them; highly insulting Tweets, he argues, are "fighting words" and thus punishable under Virginia law.
Rep. Devin Nunes's $250M Lawsuit Against Twitter Will Go Nowhere
The defamation (and negligence) claims against Twiter are blocked by 47 U.S.C. § 230.
Montana Criminal Libel Statute Struck Down
The statute doesn't require that the defendant knew the statement was false or likely false, and is thus inconsistent with Supreme Court precedent.
Does the Constitution Require Unanimous Jury Verdicts in Criminal Cases?
In 1972, a 4-1-4 Supreme Court decision said "yes" in federal cases, no in state cases; the Supreme Court will now reconsider it.
"Your Honor, My Stomach Just Naturally Produced Alcohol"
"Auto-brewery syndrome" (or "gut fermentation syndrome") is apparently a thing -- but, the Maine high court says, the judge permissibly excluded a particular expert who wanted to testify this thing might have happened in this case.
Free as a Bird: Showing Middle Finger to Police Officer = Constitutionally Protected Speech
Every reasonable officer should know that, says the Sixth Circuit.
Expedited Appeals of Anti-Libel/Anti-Harassment Injunctions
If your client has been ordered not to say things about someone, here are the precedents supporting your right to an expedited appeal.
Florida Bill Would Make It a Crime for Minors to Post Pictures of Guns on Social Media
Clearly unconstitutional, of course.
When the Fat Lady's Cat is Singing to the Genie, and the Bottle Has Fallen Out of the Bag …
An interesting decision called United States v. Suppressed.
No Preliminary Injunctions Against Libel
Another court opinion reinforces this principle -- even if repetition of libelous statements can be forbidden after a trial on the merits at which the statements are found libelous, it can't be preliminarily enjoined before such a trial.
Georgia Universities Entitled to Reject Illegal Alien Applicants (Including DACA Recipients)
So holds the Eleventh Circuit, I think quite correctly.
Discrimination Against Religion, and the "Churches Are Tax-Exempt" Red Herring
Tax exemptions are an argument for treating churches like other tax-exempt nonprofits, not for specially excluding them from benefits available to such nonprofits.
"Cleaning Up the Lemon Mess"
"What lower courts and local governments desperately need is not guidance on hypothetical cases that have never arisen. They need guidance on the many cases they're wrestling with today. Lemon doesn't provide that guidance. It makes the problem worse."
Your Dog Is Too Cute for This Deposition
OK, it wasn't just about the dog, but I think its presence (and effect) was likely especially telling ....
Can a Person Be Banned from Posting Anything About Someone Else, Because His Past Speech Supposedly Stems from a "Vendetta"?
Yes, said an Ohio Court of Appeals majority opinion, reasoning that the speaker's past speech "was not engaged in for a legitimate reason, but instead for an illegitimate reason born out of a vendetta seeking to cause mental distress to his mother and sister and to exact personal revenge." No, argue the EFF, Prof. Aaron Caplan, and I in a brief we've just filed with the Ohio Supreme Court.
Seven Seeds of Freedom In Islam
Islam contains concepts or practices that express religious freedom in a significant way but that fall short of a full and broadly respected human right of religious freedom.
Court Ordered Divorcing Husband Not "to Post Anything on Facebook … in Regards to This Action"
Fortunately, the California Court of Appeal has just reversed the decision, on First Amendment grounds.
"Federal Judges Are Appointed for Life, Not for Eternity"
From today's Supreme Court opinion holding that a judge's vote may not be counted in an opinion released two weeks after his death.
Defendant Has No First Amendment Right to Wear "Black Lives Matter" T-Shirt at Trial
So holds the Kansas Court of Appeals, in reasoning that applies equally to any clothing that displays a message; the defendant in this particular case was on trial for setting fire to a truck that was displaying Confederate flags.
"Cyberstalking" Ban Violates the First Amendment
So a federal district court in Washington just concluded, about a Washington statute that criminalized "anonymous or repeated" speech intended "to harass, ... torment, or embarrass."
"The American Legion Briefing: Four Characters in Search of an Establishment Clause Standard"
An analysis of the amicus briefs in the Establishment Clause / cross monument case, from Eric Rassbach at the Becket Fund.
