Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. We started the day with our annual Turley Turkey Bowl — running over 50 years of unbroken tradition. We returned to prepare our big family feast. We do traditional fare with a turkey, stuffing, cranberry, Waldorf salad, pumpkin pies and all the rest. We should be in a food coma in time to watch the NFL games.
Below is my column in USA Today on the “deactivation order” issued to a controversial pro-Palestinian group at the University of Florida. The order in my view is unconstitutional. We need to focus on deterring acts of destruction and any violent threats or acts on our campuses. We can maintain a safe space for all of our students without sacrificing the free speech rights that are the foundation for higher education.
Here is the column.
Continue reading “Florida’s “Deactivation” of Pro-Palestinian Group is Unconstitutional”
There are new polls out of Harvard and NBC that show surprising results on gun ownership and rights. According to NBC, a majority (52%) now say that they or someone in their household owns a gun. Most notably, the Harvard poll shows that six in ten voters believe owning a gun is a necessary part of protecting themselves from criminals. Continue reading “New Polling Shows a Majority of American Households Own Guns and Support Gun Rights”
In “The Indispensable Right,” I discuss how academics are now leading an anti-free speech movement on campuses that challenges the centrality (or even the necessity) of free speech protections in higher education. The latest such argument appeared this month in the Chronicle of Higher Education. Continue reading “Professors: Free Speech and Intellectual Diversity are Not Essential to Higher Education”
Even in his freshman year, Democratic New York Rep. Dan Goldman has proven one of the most controversial members in Congress from attacking witnesses to inadvertently undermining the Biden defenses. The latest controversy involves a call to “eliminate” Donald Trump after accusing him of using “inflammatory rhetoric.” He has since apologized for his own language. Despite being one of the many past targets of Goldman’s wrath, I do not believe that Goldman was calling for violence. It was what I call “rage rhetoric” in my book The Indispensable Right. However, the incident shows the perils of criminalizing political speech.
Economics professor John Strauss from the University of Southern California is teaching remotely for the rest of the term in a controversy that has serious free speech implications. Strauss was made the subject of a protest after confronting protesters on campus and calling for all Hamas terrorists to be killed. A deceptively edited videotape was posted that made it sound like Strauss was calling for all Palestinians to be killed. The move is part of a disturbing trend limiting free speech on campuses. Continue reading “Southern California Professor Forced to Teach Remotely After Inflammatory Rhetoric Against Hamas”
A Houston attorney, Ronald Lewis, 77, is facing criminal charges over an allegation that he brought drug-laced papers into a jail that later caused the death of two inmates. We have previously discussed charges of attorneys for criminal conduct in jails, but few have reached this level of culpability. Lewis is currently facing two charges of having a banned substance in a correctional facility. However, it is possible, if not likely, that additional charges will be brought later.
Below is my column in The Hill on the recent victory of a California professor in challenging diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies on free speech grounds. It is a rare win for dissenting faculty as DEI policies become more expansive and mandatory.
Here is the column:
Below is a longer version of my column in the New York Post on the leaking of the interviews of former counsel to Donald Trump. The interviews could magnify the difficulties for both Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and Special Counsel Jack Smith in their respective prosecutions. These cases still represent a serious threat to Trump, but these prosecutors must first overcome a glaring potential contradiction. That does not mean that Christie and the other candidates will not get a “Spring Break” with a conviction, but it could prove more challenging even with highly favorable jury pools.
Here is the column:
Colorado Judge Sarah Wallace has become the latest jurist to reject the effort to bar former president Donald Trump from the ballot under the novel 14th Amendment theory. I have long been a vocal critic of the theory, which I view as historically and legally unfounded. I also view it as arguably the most dangerous theory to arise in decades. While Wallace reached the right conclusion, she committed, in my view, fundamental errors in her analysis on the free speech elements of the case. Continue reading “Colorado Judge Rejects 14th Amendment Disqualification Effort to Bar Trump from Ballot”
There is a controversy over the canceling of a lecture by Nina Paley, an illustrator, who was invited to lecture at Northeastern University Oakland. Paley was invited to conduct a zoom lecture by Parul Wadhwa, who canceled the lecture roughly an hour before it started with a statement condemning Paley as a TERF or a Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminists. Continue reading “TERF War: Artist Canceled at Northeastern University over Gender Identity Views”
Below is my column on Fox.com on the new allegations of perjury by Michael Cohen after his testimony in the New York fraud trial of his former client Donald Trump. The alleged perjury occurred in testimony before Congress, but it is part of patterns going back decades. For his critics, Cohen has made lying a virtual art form — supported by an ever-changing array of powerful benefactors.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Lying About Lying? Michael Cohen Appears to Confess to Prior False Statements Under Oath”
I am happy to announce the publication of my latest law review article, The Unfinished Masterpiece: Compulsion and the Evolving Jurisprudence Over Free Speech, 83 Md. L. Rev. 145 (2023) The work not only discusses the recent 303 Creative ruling of the Supreme Court, but an important case now pending before the Court for possible review, Porter v. Board of Trustees of North Carolina State University. The Porter decision was decided by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and, in my view, represents a major threat to both free speech and academic freedom. Both cases are also discussed in my forthcoming book, The Indispensable Right.
Continue reading “Turley Publication on the Compulsion of Free Speech is Now Available”
Below is my column in The Messenger on the view of diplomats in the Biden Administration that the President is spreading “misinformation.” My interest in the story is less the merits than the allegation. The President is facing the same allegation of ignoring fact and spreading disinformation that has resulted in thousands being banned or blacklisted on social media. The Biden Administration has pushed for such censorship in areas where doctors and pundits held opposing views on subjects ranging from Covid-19 to climate control. The question is whether Joe Biden himself should be banned under the standards promulgated by his own Administration.
Here is the column:
We have been discussing the nationwide effort to disqualify former President Donald Trump from ballots in key states under a novel theory using Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. Yesterday, a Michigan judge was the latest to dismiss the effort to prevent voters from being able to vote for Trump. Continue reading “Michigan Court Rejects Effort to Disqualify Donald Trump”