Northern Ireland is finally safe. Clive Johnston has been convicted and can no longer menace the public.
Johnson, 78, is a retired pastor who committed the heinous offense of preaching near the Causeway Hospital in Coleraine. That was considered within the “safe access zone” under Northern Ireland’s Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act. Continue reading “Northern Ireland Convicts 78-Year-Old Preacher for Preaching Near Abortion Clinic”
I am having a tough week. I was recently compelled to write a column expressing skepticism about the prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey for shell art posted on social media, despite being one of his longest and most vocal critics. Now, I find myself having to write a column in defense of former Northwestern University President Morton Schapiro, who was just dumped as the commencement speaker for Georgetown Law School. I have criticized Schapiro for years as a major force in destroying the intellectual diversity in higher education. Continue reading “The Mob Comes for Morton Schapiro: Georgetown Law School Replaces Pro-Israel Speaker After Protests” 
Berkeley has long been viewed as one of the most viewpoint-intolerant universities in the United States. Conservatives and those with opposing views are rarely invited and often face protests or cancellations. Some of us have long accused the Berkeley administrators and faculty of fostering this culture of intolerance. That culture was again on full display in the cancellation of an event with Jeffrey Dean, Chief Scientist at Google, in Jarvis Auditorium on Friday, May 1. The passive position taken by the campus police speaks volumes about why Berkeley is an academic echo chamber. The university reportedly maintained that it will take no action in preventing such disruptions absent violence. In adopting this position, the university effectively enables a heckler’s veto. The inexplicable position would leave the level of permitted speech to the mob at Berkeley. Continue reading “Berkeley Refuses to Act as Pro-Palestinian Protesters Disrupt Campus Event”
I recently spoke on Rage and the Republic at Cornell University and posted about the beauty of the school with the return of flowers and birds in the Spring. What I fortunately missed was the seasonal return of harassing protesters. That experience was reserved this week for Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff, who is now embroiled in controversy over a parking-lot confrontation. Continue reading “Cornell President Accused of Hitting An Anti-Israel Protester After Being Surrounded in Parking Lot”
In “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage,” I write about how censorship often becomes an insatiable appetite once countries go down the road of speech regulation. There is no better example than the Dutch and their recent ban on public ads for meat and fossil fuels. Activists have imposed similar limitations on advertising for products in the United States, from alcohol to tobacco. However, the Dutch law reflects how this tendency can metastasize into shielding citizens from unhealthy choices or influences. Continue reading “Carbon Neutral, Speech Negative: Amsterdam Bans Advertisements Featuring Meat and Fossil Fuels”
The University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law has brought a new meaning to the heckler’s veto. Some of us criticized the law school for its failure to hold students accountable for disrupting a recent Federalist Society event featuring James Percival, general counsel of the Department of Homeland Security. While the law school administration does not appear interested in holding the protesters accountable, it has threatened the Federalist Society that it could face discipline if it identifies any of the students who disrupted the event. This perfectly surreal position was stated in a letter from Bayrex Martí, UCLA’s assistant dean for student affairs. Continue reading “Heckler’s Veto: UCLA Warns Federalist Society Not to Reveal Identity of Student Protesters”
Below is my column on Fox.com on the second indictment of former FBI director James Comey. Despite being one of Comey’s longest critics, the indictment raises troubling free speech issues. In the end, it must be the Constitution, not Comey, that drives the analysis and this indictment is unlikely to withstand constitutional scrutiny. If it did, it would allow the government to criminalize a huge swath of political speech in the United States.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “Shell Speech: Why the Second Comey Indictment is Likely to Fail”
The slogan of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) may be “Let there be light,” but a recent Federalist Society event produced more heat than light in the law school. Students and faculty wanted to hear from James Percival, general counsel of the Department of Homeland Security, on a host of issues. However, students organized to prevent others from hearing from Percival, who was drowned out by profanity and cellphones at the event. Continue reading “More Heat Than Light: UCLA Students Disrupt Federalist Society Event”
The indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center on federal fraud charges this week is the start of what could become not just a major criminal prosecution but a major constitutional challenge. At issue is whether the Center’s secret operations to enlist and pay informers constituted fraud of its donors. Continue reading “The SPLC Indictment: Can Public Interest Groups Run Alleged Black-Bag Jobs and Confidential Informants?”
Below is my column in the California Post and New York Post on the disbarment of John Eastman. I criticized the January 6th speeches while they were being given and disagreed with the legal theories presented to stop the certification. However, this action leaves troubling questions of consistency and clarity in the standards used to judge lawyers presenting novel or controversial legal arguments. It also is likely to have a chilling effect on the exercise of free speech by lawyers.
Here is the column: Continue reading “The Disbarment of John Eastman: The California Bar Bags a Trump Lawyer and Leaves Troubling Questions”
Colorado’s tourism slogan, “it’s our nature,” has a menacing meaning for free speech advocates. Colorado is now arguably the most anti-free speech state in the union, pushing an array of measures attacking those with opposing social and political views. The irony is that the state has proved a bonanza for free speech with spectacular legal failures that reaffirmed rather than restricted the First Amendment. Now, the Democratic legislature and governor are back with new unconstitutional measures, including a requirement that lawyers not share information with federal immigration officials as a condition for filing with state courts. Continue reading ““It’s Our Nature”: Colorado Doubles Down on New Assaults on the First Amendment”
John Adams once wrote: “America … the opening of a grand scene and design in providence, for the illumination of the ignorant.”
Unfortunately, this week, the “grand scene and design in Providence [R.I.]” “illuminated” rather than eliminated the ignorance of our times. Liberals in that city, including the mayor Brett Smiley, demanded the removal of a mural in the memory of Iryna Zarutska, a young woman murdered on a train. Unlike memorials to figures like George Floyd or others, a memorial to the young white woman was deemed triggering and “divisive.” Continue reading ““What Cheer, Netop”: Providence Destroys Mural to Murder Victim as too “Divisive” and Triggering”
Below is my column in the New York Post on the termination of Chicago Bulls guard Jaden Ivey after his posting of religious views on social media. The controversy should allow for a broader debate on the endorsement of political and social causes by sports teams while gagging players and coaches with opposing views.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Poison Ivey: Chicago Bulls Release Forward After He Speaks Out Against Pride Month”
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is again warning of a growing threat to the nation. In her lone dissent in Chiles v. Salazar, Jackson observed that “to be completely frank, no one knows what will happen now.” The ominous tone stemmed from the fact that free speech had prevailed over state-imposed orthodoxy in a Colorado case. Eight justices, including her two liberal colleagues, ruled that Colorado could not prevent licensed counselors from “any practice or treatment” that “attempts or purports to change” a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Continue reading ““No One Knows What Will Happen Now”: Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson Warns Against Unbridled Free Speech “
I have previously written about D.A. v. Tri-County Area Schools, one of the worst free speech decisions to come out of the appellate courts in years. In this case, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld a school ban on high school students wearing “Let’s Go Brandon” sweatshirts. Sixth Circuit Judge John Nalbandian was joined by Judge Karen Nelson Moore in a deeply flawed holding that, under the “vulgarity exception,” the action was constitutional. The Supreme Court needs to grant review in this case and reverse this obnoxious decision. Continue reading “Supreme Court Asked to Hear “Let’s Go Brandon” Case”