Law Commons^™

The Dilemma Of Liberal Pluralism, Abner S. Greene

Buffalo Law Review

Supporters of reproductive rights and of queer rights may sometimes live in harmony with advocates for religious exemptions. But sometimes these goals conflict. This Article explores this tension as a matter of liberal democratic theory and U.S. constitutional law, offering a case for seeing a robust pluralism as contained within a proper understanding of the liberal democratic state. The state’s claimed authority may be the starting point, but just as the modern state was born in decentralized religious toleration, so should the modern state accommodate religious and other views of the good that compete with the state’s own views. The …

The Rise And Fall Of Group Libel: The Forgotten Campaign For Hate Speech Laws, Samantha Barbas

Journal Articles

It is well-known that there is no “hate speech” law in the United States. This has been criticized, especially given the existence of robust hate speech laws in other nations. The absence of hate speech laws in American law has been attributed to legal, cultural, and historical factors, including speech protective First Amendment jurisprudence and long-standing skepticism of group reputation as an interest worthy of legal protection.

This Article presents another reason for the absence of hate speech laws in America: the failure of a large-scale social movement in the 1940s to pass hate speech laws or “group libel” laws, …

Reading Section 230, Shlomo Klapper

Buffalo Law Review

In Gonzalez v. Google, the Supreme Court, for the first time, agreed to hear a case concerning the interpretation of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the most important law governing the internet. As Justice Thomas and others have noted, judges have overlooked Section 230’s text in interpreting the statute, relying instead on purpose. Yet scholars and critics, too, have eschewed the statutory text, relying on intent or consequences to favor alternate interpretations, but depriving the Court and litigants of the richness the statutory text offers.

This Article offers the first comprehensive analysis of Section 230’s text and structure. …

Does Houchins V. Kqed, Inc. Matter?, Matthew L. Schafer

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.