Law Commons^™

Beyond The First Amendment: What The Evolution Of Maryland's Constitutional Free-Speech Guarantee Shows About Its Intended Breadth, Anthony W. Kraus

University of Baltimore Law Forum

Most Maryland lawyers are vaguely aware that Maryland's Declaration of Rights contains its own guarantee of free speech that is worded differently from the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. What the Declaration of Rights actually says about free speech, however, and what can be inferred from its distinctive phrasing and legislative history, are not matters that have received much particularized attention. Decisions of Maryland's courts routinely state that Article 40 of the Declaration of Rights - the principal source of state free-speech rights - is construed in pari materia with the First Amendment, which, as a practical matter, …

Recent Development: Mitchell V. Md. Motor Vehicle Admin.: Vanity Licence Plates Constitute Private Speech In A Nonpublic Forum, Which Require Restrictions To Be Reasonable And Viewpoint Neutral, Sarah J. Jentilet

University of Baltimore Law Forum

The Court of Appeals of Maryland held that the Motor Vehicle Administration acted within constitutional boundaries when it recalled a vanity license plate displaying the word "MIERDA." Mitchell v. Md. Motor Vehicle Admin., 450 Md. 282, 288, 148 A.3d 319, 323 (2016). The court found that the message on a vanity plate is considered private speech in a nonpublic forum, and accordingly government speech restrictions must be reasonable and viewpoint neutral. Id.

In 2009, the Motor Vehicle Administration ("MVA") issued vanity plates with the term "MIERDA" to John T. Mitchell ("Mitchell"). Two years later, Mitchell renewed the plates. Thereafter, the …

"And To Your Left You'll See...": Licensed Tour Guides, The First Amendment, And The Free Market, Kristin Tracy

University of Baltimore Law Review

If you are a beer-lover visiting Washington, D.C., you might want to check out “DC Brew Tours,” a “beer tour company in the Capital region that offers daily brewery tours to Washington’s best breweries, brewpubs, and bars.” As you would expect, the tour includes samples of beer from a number of local craft breweries, as well as information about how each beer is made. What you might not expect, however, is that, until very recently, DC Brew tour guides were legally obligated to pass a written exam about the history of D.C., a topic which has little to do with …