Law Commons^™

Anything Goes: Examining The State's Interest In Protecting Children From Controversial Speech, Catherine J. Ross

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Despite doctrinal requirements that the state establish a compelling interest to justify content-based regulations on speech, Professor Ross argues that courts have routinely taken the government's interest at face value when it argues that it inhibits speech to protect children. The Article examines the Supreme Court's test which requires the state to establish a compelling interest by articulating the precise harm it wishes to address, demonstrating a nexus between that identified harm and the regulated speech, and showing that restriction of the speech will alleviate the harm. The author seeks to reframe the discussion surrounding controversial speech and children by …