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Pragmatism, Paternalism, And The Constitutional Protection Of Commercial Speech, Allen K. Rostron
Pragmatism, Paternalism, And The Constitutional Protection Of Commercial Speech, Allen K. Rostron
Faculty Works
Two key perspectives have emerged in the Supreme Court’s decisions about First Amendment protection of commercial speech. The anti-paternalism view, originally embraced by the Court’s most liberal members but now advanced by Clarence Thomas, holds that the government has only a narrow interest in preventing false advertising. To the extent that commercial speech is not fraudulent or misleading, the government must simply let people hear it and decide for themselves whether they find it persuasive. Other judges argue that courts need to be more pragmatic about the effects of advertising and more deferential to government attempts to promote public health …
Intellectual Seriousness And The First Amendment's Protection Of Free Speech For Students, Allen K. Rostron
Intellectual Seriousness And The First Amendment's Protection Of Free Speech For Students, Allen K. Rostron
Faculty Works
Constitutional protection of student speech has been a mixed blessing. There is still something quite inspiring about the notion that young people have worthwhile thoughts to share, and that the Constitution guarantees their right to do so. At the same time, courts have struggled to figure out what limits on student expression should be permitted, and much of the litigation has involved student speech that is disappointingly mindless. The Supreme Court’s seminal ruling in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District concerned students who wore armbands to express a serious message about an important national issue. Judges and school …