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.
Eugene Volokh
Latest from Eugene Volokh
"Freedom of the Press" as the Equal Freedom of All to Using Printing Press Technology, from the 1820s to 1930
"Freedom of the press," as I've argued in earlier posts, was understood as protecting the freedom of all to use the printing press -- not just a freedom of the profession or industry that we might call "the press."
Discussions of the Freedom of the Press as Protecting Non-Press-as-Industry Writers (America)
"Freedom of the press," as I've argued in earlier posts, was understood as protecting the freedom of all to use the printing press -- not just a freedom of the profession or industry that we might call "the press."
"A Spiraling Controversy Over Anti-Semitic Comments and Conspiracy Theories Has Roiled the Washington City Government"
Rothschilds, "fake Jews," "termite[s]," Louis Farrakhan, and more.
'Freedom of the Press' and Non-Professional-Media Speakers: Why It Matters
Some judges in recent have years have reasoned that non-professional-media speakers have lesser First Amendment rights.
Jonathan Rauch on Happiness: Why Life Gets Better After 50
Rauch is one of my favorite writers -- plus I just turned 50, so I suppose I want to believe ....
Another "Just Shut Up" Order, This One Involving Anti-Vax Activists
One activist is ordered "not [to] post photographs videos, or information about [the other] to any internet site."
"First Mondays" Supreme Court Podcast: Highly Recommended
I just started to listening to this a few months ago (late adopter), I know, and I'm totally hooked.
Evidence from Around the Framing: English Non-Newspaper Freedom-of-the-Press Cases
"Freedom of the press," as I've argued in earlier posts, was understood as protecting the freedom of all to use the printing press -- not just a freedom of the profession or industry that we might call "the press."
Shouting "Gas" in a Crowded Library -- or Whatever Is Equivalent to "Shouting" for Smell
It was a rotten durian, and "the waste will be dealt with by Environment Protection Authority officers."
Shouting Hellfire in a Crowded Theater
At the end of one Avengers screening, a man started yelling, "If you were to die tonight, would your passage to heaven be guaranteed?"
Libel by WiFi Network Name
City councilman names his WiFi network "[Name of mayor and her husband] stocking u2"; could be libelous, holds the Idaho Supreme Court by a 3-2 vote.
Should U.S. Supreme Court Litigants Decline Consent for Filing of Amicus Briefs?
TL;DR summary: No, it's pointless -- as the data shows -- and it can make you look bad.
Why Can Felons Be Denied the Right to Vote?
Felons retain their free speech rights. Some recent court decisions conclude that some felons regain their Second Amendment rights. But the right to vote is different, according to the constitutional text.
Man with 28-year-old Felony False Statement Conviction Can't Be Denied Second Amendment Rights
So a federal district court in Illinois held yesterday.
Evidence from Around the Framing: The Freedom of the Press Covering Authors of Books and Pamphlets
More on why the freedom of the press wasn't seen as limited to "the press" in the sense of the institutional media, but extended to all who used the printing press.
Wisconsin Armslist Decision Undermines Web Site Protections Way Beyond Gun Sales
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals let a case against gun-sales advertising site Armslist go forward -- and in the process undermined 47 U.S.C. § 230 protection for a wide range of web sites.
Minn. Sup. Ct. to Decide: Do Ordinary Speakers Have Lesser First Amendment Rights Than Newspapers?
In 1980, the Minnesota Supreme Court said "yes"; yesterday, it agreed to hear a case that might lead it to reconsider.
The Nonredundant Free Press Clause
Some argue that the "freedom of the press" must give special rights to the press-as-industry, because otherwise it would be redundant of the "freedom of the speech" -- but in the Framing era, the two were complementary, not redundant.
"Drew Cloud Is a Well-Known Expert on Student Loans. One Problem: He's Not Real."
A remarkable story from The Chronicle of Higher Education (Dan Bauman & Chris Quintana)
Non-First-Amendment Objections to Anti-Libel Injunctions
A new section for the brief I blogged about last week, ultimately arguing that an injunction is improper in Sindi v. El-Moslimany -- but not because of the First Amendment.
Freedom for the Press as an Industry, or for the Press as a Technology? From the Framing to Today
The Free Press Clause, my research led me to conclude, has long been understood as equally protecting all who speak using the means of mass communications -- not just professional journalists and the like.
Do Ordinary Speakers Have Lesser First Amendment Rights Than Newspapers Do?
"Yes," the Minnesota Supreme Court said in 1980 -- now it's being asked to reconsider that.
District Judge Generally Rejects Plea Bargaining
An unusual perspective in a system that very heavily relies on plea bargains, but one I thought worth noting.
Caniformia
Apparently all carnivorans (not quite the same as carnivores) are either doggy or catty.
"D.C. lawmaker who said Jews control the weather visits Holocaust Museum but leaves early"
Not an Onion headline (but maybe subconsciously influenced by one).
First Opinion by James Ho (a Recently Appointed Fifth Circuit Judge)
It's a dissent from denial of rehearing en banc, joined by Judge Edith Jones, in a case that upheld a $350 cap for contributions to Austin City Council races.
I Doubt This Is the Right Way to Manipulate Justice Gorsuch
Capsule summary: "Vote the way we want you to, and maybe we'll have just a bit less contempt for you than we now do."
Why Properly Crafted Injunctions Against Libel Are Constitutional
I'm crowd-testing this draft amicus brief, which I need to be file by Wednesday, April 25. Please tell me what I'm getting wrong here!
Massachusetts High Court Strikes Down Stun Gun Ban
The U.S. Supreme Court had rejected the Massachusetts court's earlier arguments for why stun guns aren't covered by the Second Amendment, but had sent the case back for the Massachusetts court to consider other arguments.
Crossover Sensation Neil Gorsuch
Justice Gorsuch joins the four liberals in Sessions v. Dimaya, applying the void-for-vagueness doctrine to a particular deportation law.
Organized Heckling at CUNY School of Law of Prof. Josh Blackman Talk on Free Speech
Josh Blackman is one of the leading young libertarian/conservative law professors in the country.
"Red Cow" Cases (Sometimes Called "Spotted Calf" Cases)
Not a red bull, not a red heifer ....
Judicial Candidates' Free Speech Rights
Does the Supreme Court's decision in Williams-Yulee v. Florida Bar (2015) -- which upheld a restriction on fundraising by a judicial candidate -- also authorize much broader bans on candidate speech?
Wells Fargo Resists Union Threats Aimed at Getting It to Drop Gun Manufacturer Clients
"I do not believe that the American public wants banks to decide which legal products consumers can and cannot buy."
Free Speech Rights, Parental Rights, and Children with Gender Dysphoria
An interesting Arizona appellate decision rejecting a court's assignment of a treating therapist, and rejecting a gag order that limited parents' discussions with the child.
Adventures with HTC Vive Pro
I hear great things about the $800 HTC Vive Pro virtual reality headset -- except when I ordered it, I couldn't install the software.
When a Whole Sentence Is in Parentheses, the Period Goes There, Too
That's both logical and customary.
Supreme Court Mentions of Our Coblogger Will Baude, and My Colleague Richard Re
Sometimes law professors do say something the Justices find useful.
