Ep. 227: Should there be categories of unprotected speech?

The FIRE team debates the proposition: Should there be any categories of unprotected speech?

General Counsel Ronnie London and Chief Counsel Bob Corn-Revere go through each category of speech falling outside First Amendment protection to decide whether it should remain unprotected or if it's time to "remove an arrow from the government's quiver."

Read the transcript.

Timestamps:

00:00Intro

17:59Obscenity

21:20Child pornography

25:25Fighting words

32:36Defamation

41:22Incitement to imminent lawless action

52:07True threats

56:30False advertising and hate speech

01:02:50Outro

Show notes:

-Court cases:

• Schenck v. United States (1919)

• Near v. Minnesota Ex Rel. Olson, County Attorney (1931)

• Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire (1942)

• Roth v. United States (1957)

• Miller v. California (1973)

• R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul, Minnesota (1992)

• Counterman v. Colorado (2023)

• Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969)

• New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964)

• Virginia v. Barry Elton Black, Richard J. Elliot, and Jonathan O'Mara (2003)

• United States v. Xavier Alvarez (2012)

-Legislation:

• The Comstock Act (1873)

• The Stolen Valor Act (2005)