Free Speech Roundup: Week of June 17th, 2018

A summary of the top free speech related news and events from the past week. This week we have news on a Supreme Court ruling, the ACLU, a lawsuit, and a proposed bill.

Freedom of speech is the right from which all other human rights follow because it allows people to address grievances and protest for their other rights. It is therefore of the utmost importance to protect the right to express oneself freely from those who seek to restrict it.

Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of Arrested Florida Man

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/fane-lozeman-south-florida-government-critic-wins-free-speech-case-at-supreme-court-10451474
A Florida man who was arrested at a city council meeting almost 12 years ago won the right to pursue his claim that his First Amendment rights were violated after a lengthy legal battle. The Supreme Court ruled 8 to 1 in favor of Fane Lozman of Riviera Beach. Lozman was arrested in November 2006 for disorderly conduct while trying to speak about a corrupt local politician. A lower court had rejected his claim that the arrest was made in retaliation, but the Supreme Court ruled otherwise. Lozman is known as a local political gadfly who had stopped redevelopment of a marina. He previously won a Supreme Court case against the city, in 2013, for the seizure and destruction of his houseboat. A transcript from a closed-door meeting provided key evidence that council members sought retaliation.

University Of Washington Settles Lawsuit With College Republicans

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/uw-to-pay-127000-in-legal-fees-in-settlement-with-college-republicans-over-free-speech/
The University of Washington settled a lawsuit by the UW College Republicans for a $17,000 security fee the university planned to charge to hold a rally. The lawsuit claimed that such a high fee violated their First Amendment free speech rights. The rally, held in February with the conservative group Patriot Prayer, resulted in clashes with protestors and several arrests. The College Republicans argued that conservative groups were discriminated against by “exorbitant event fees to provide increased security needed to thwart violent protests from leftwing political activists.” They received support from 23 UW law school professors who wrote a letter saying the substantial fees would violate the First Amendment by deterring the expression of unpopular views. Under the terms of the settlement, the university will pay $122,500 in legal fees and stop charging security fees for speakers invited by student groups.

ACLU Wavers On Free Speech Commitment

https://reason.com/blog/2018/06/21/aclu-leaked-memo-free-speech
https://reason.com/volokh/2018/06/22/aclus-david-cole-responds-about-aclu-and
The ACLU has been one of the most ardent protectors of freedom of speech, but that principled commitment may be wavering according to a leaked internal memo. The memo states that the ACLU will weigh free speech cases against its other commitments to social justice and racial equality saying, “Our defense of speech may have a greater or lesser harmful impact on the equality and justice work to which we are also committed.” It also states that the ACLU will generally not represent Second Amendment rights in conjunction with First Amendment rights. The memo’s authors claim it is intended to serve as guidelines for which cases to pursue, but it appears to capitulate to anti-free speech progressive activists. Seeking to protect marginalized communities from “harmful” speech is a short-term tactic that will be more harmful in the long-term. The ACLU’s past defense of groups such as the KKK was never an endorsement of bigotry, but a principled defense of the First Amendment to protect it from bad legal precedents. ACLU National Legal Director David Cole denies the memo represents a change in policy, but former executive director Ira Glasser says it does because “the ACLU now advises all its affiliates to consider the content of speech, and whether it advances our goals, before deciding whether to defend the right to speak.”

New York Senate Tries To Suppress Boycotts

https://www.thefire.org/new-york-state-senate-passes-bill-targeting-student-groups-who-indirectly-encourage-hate-speech-or-boycotts-of-u-s-allies-for-third-time/
The New York State Senate passed a bill prohibiting student organizations at state universities from “directly or indirectly” encouraging or permitting “intolerance, hate speech or boycotts” against some U.S. allies. Student organizations would not be allowed to receive university funding if found to engage in or support such boycotts. For the third year in a row, the bill passed the senate before the closing of the legislative session then prevented it from becoming law. The bill sought to protect countries that were members of NATO, signatories of the Southeast Asia Treaty of 1954, signatories of the Rio Treaty of 1947 (except Venezuela), as well as Ireland, Israel, Japan, and the Republic of Korea. It was likely composed with student groups who protest Israel in mind. It would be a clear violation of students’ First Amendment rights.

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Recent Free Speech Roundups:

Free Speech Roundup: Week of June 10th, 2018
Free Speech Roundup: Week of June 3rd, 2018
Free Speech Roundup: Week of May 27th, 2018
Free Speech Roundup: Week of May 20th, 2018
Free Speech Roundup: Week of May 13th, 2018

Other Free Speech Posts:

Count Dankula Sentenced
UK Speech Police Offended Again
Lèse-majesté: Archaic Anti-Speech Law
California Bill Threatens Online Press and Speech
UK Parliament Report on Campus Free Speech
Thoughtcrime in the UK?
New Study Shows College Students Conflicted on Free Speech
Who is most supportive of free speech?
Campus Free Speech Zones
Hitchens on Free Speech - Must Watch

Free Speech Resources:

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
The American Civil Liberties Union
Notable 1st Amendment Cases – ALA
Milton’s Areopagitica – Modern English Translation
On Liberty by John Stuart Mill – Audiobook

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
~ First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States