Free Speech

Abstract

Last year was a very big year for freedom of speech in the Roberts Court---or more precisely, it was a big year with respect to some kinds of speech cases but not others. To tell you about freedom of speech in the Roberts Court so far, let me first divide the cases by scorecard. I will begin with the cases in which speakers won their challenges, vindicating a First Amendment interest against a government regulation. Then, turning to the other side of the scorecard, I will talk about cases where the speaker lost.