First Amendment Law Prof Blog

Davis v. FEC: Court Strikes Down "Millionaire's Amendment"

In a 5-4 decision by Justice Alito, the Court today found that the so called "Millionaire's Amendment" to McCain-Feingold (the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act) violated the First Amendment.  The provision relaxed campaign finance limits for opponents of congressional candidates who spent more than $350,000 in personal funds. 

Over at Election Law Blog, Rick Hasen predicts the decision may lay "the groundwork for striking down limits on spending by corporations and unions [and] make public financing plans less effective and less desirable."   

Access Davis v. FEC via SCOTUSblog.

-Kathleen A. Bergin

Technology Provides New Insight Into "Community Standards"

The New York Times reports that defense attorneys in a Florida web pornography case plan to introduce  search data from Google to prove to a jury that the "community standards" are not as pristine as they might like to believe.  The data comes from trends.google.com, which allows users to track and compare search queries in different geographic areas.  Defense attorneys also served Google with a subpoena for more specific information on the search habits of local residents.  No word yet on whether Google will comply or move to quash.

I've used a hypothetical similar to this in my First Amendment course for several years, and its always fun to happen across teachable real world scenarios.  But I'm not sure which is more concerning - the pervasiveness of web pornography or being reminded of Google's ability to track my personal habits.   

-Kathleen A. Bergin 

Hilden on US v. Williams

Findlaw's Julie Hilden authored a two part discussion of last month's decision in US v. Williams where the Court upheld a federal statute that criminalized the pandering of child pornography.  Link to Part I and Part II.         

Sex Offender Statute Violates Free Exercise, Says Georgia Human Rights Group

The Southern Center for Human Rights is seeking an injunction against a Georgia sex-offender statute claiming that it interferes with religious freedom.  The law, which takes effect July 1, is broader than most sex offender statutes.  In addition to restricting residency and employment opportunities, Georgia's statute prohibits registered sex offenders from volunteering at a place of religious worship.  In a press release issued today SCHR attorney Sarah Geraghty said:

Certain people on the sex offender registry would not work with children in a church setting or elsewhere . . .  But criminalizing the practice of religion for all 15,000 people on the registry will do more harm than good.  With this law, the state of Georgia is driving people on the registry from their faith communities and depriving them of the rehabilitative influence of the church.

Georgia lawmakers have vowed to defend the law, citing strong support from community members at large.

Briefs and related documents are available at SCHR.

-Kathleen A. Bergin

   

Global Developments: Slovakia Draws Criticism for 'Right of Reply' Statute

Slovakia is under fire for media reforms that interfere with the right of a free press.  A "right of reply" statute that took effect this month requires newspapers and magazines to publish responses from persons who feel that a published article violates their "honour, dignity or privacy."  It also provides a damages remedy when a newspaper refuses to publish the reply.

A spokeswoman for The Culture Ministry defended the new policy to Canada's Globe and Mail: 

"The Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic never said the application of right of reply doesn't effect the freedom of the media, of course on a certain level it does," she said. "There should be some harmony between the application of freedom of speech and rights of public and private persons to defend their dignity."

She presented a barrage of statistics, including the fact that 40 of 56 member states of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe have some form of right-of-reply legislation. But when asked off-the-cuff for a specific example of a regular citizen whose honour had been impinged, she was flummoxed - although she insisted that such abuses were a daily occurrence.

Miklos Haraszti, the Representative on Freedom of the Media for the OSCE, dismisses government claims the law is intended to protect the average citizen as "not very believable." He notes the time and expense of hiring a lawyer and going to court.

All told, "This is quite unheard of," says Mr. Haraszti, "especially in democracies."

Peter Bachraty, co-founder of the Public Policy Institute in Bratislava, says the law is the result of exceptionally hostile government-media relations.

-Kathleen A. Bergin

Comedian George Carlin Dies at 71

From Entertainment Weekly.com:

The stand-up comic, whose "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television" became a cause celebre in the debate over censorship on public airwaves, died of heart failure in Santa Monica, Calif., on Sunday. . . .

The pioneering entertainer succumbed to heart failure in Santa Monica, Calif., on Sunday, at age 71. Carlin, who began making TV appearances in the 1960s with a conventional comedy act, emerged in the 1970s with a style much more reflective of the times, pushing into more sensitive areas of social observation and language, a favorite topic of his over the years. Most notably, his recorded routine ''Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television'' became the center of a landmark Supreme Court case.

The case, FCC v. Pacifica, recognized the FCC's authority to regulate indecent radio broadcasts given the pervasive and intrusive nature of the broadcast medium. 

-Kathleen A. Bergin