Law Commons^™

Campus Speech And Harassment, Alexander Tsesis

Alexander Tsesis

No abstract provided.

Categorizing Student Speech, Alexander Tsesis

Alexander Tsesis

No abstract provided.

Multifactoral Free Speech, Alexander Tsesis

Alexander Tsesis

This Article presents a multifactoral approach to free speech analysis. Difficult cases present a variety of challenges that require judges to weigh concerns for the protection of robust dialogue, especially about public issues, against concerns that sound in common law (such as reputation), statutory law (such as repose against harassment), and in constitutional law (such as copyright). Even when speech is implicated, the Court should aim to resolve other relevant individual and social issues arising from litigation. Focusing only on free speech categories is likely to discount substantial, and sometimes compelling, social concerns warranting reflection, analysis, and application. Examining the …

Social Media Accountability For Terrorist Propaganda, Alexander Tsesis

Alexander Tsesis

Terrorist organizations have found social media websites to be invaluable for disseminating ideology, recruiting terrorists, and planning operations. National and international leaders have repeatedly pointed out the dangers terrorists pose to ordinary people and state institutions. In the United States, the federal Communications Decency Act's § 230 provides social networking websites with immunity against civil law suits. Litigants have therefore been unsuccessful in obtaining redress against internet companies who host or disseminate third-party terrorist content. This Article demonstrates that § 230 does not bar private parties from recovery if they can prove that a social media company had received complaints …

The Declaration Of Independence And Constitutional Interpretation, Alexander Tsesis

Alexander Tsesis

This Article argues that the Reconstruction Amendments incorporated the human dignity values of the Declaration of Independence. The original Constitution contained clauses, which protected the institution of slavery, that were irreconcilable with the normative commitments the nation had undertaken at independence. The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments set the country aright by formally incorporating the Declaration of Independence's principles for representative governance into the Constitution.

The Declaration of Independence provides valuable insights into matters of human dignity, privacy, and self-government. Its statements about human rights, equality, and popular sovereignty establish a foundational rule of interpretation. While the Supreme Court has …

Balancing Free Speech, Alexander Tsesis

Alexander Tsesis

This article develops a theory for balancing free speech against other express and implied constitutional, statutory, and doctrinal values. It posits that free speech considerations should be connected to the underlying purpose of constitutional governance. When deciding difficult cases involving competing rights, judges should examine (1) whether unencumbered expression is likely to cause constitutional, statutory, or common law harms; (2) whether the restricted expression has been historically or traditionally protected; (3) whether a government policy designed to benefit the general welfare weighs in favor of the regulation; (4) the fit between the disputed speech regulation and the public end; and …

The Declaration Of Independence As Introduction To The Constitution, Alexander Tsesis

Alexander Tsesis

No abstract provided.

Antisemitism And Hate Speech Studies, Alexander Tsesis

Alexander Tsesis

No abstract provided.

Free Speech Constitutionalism, Alexander Tsesis

Alexander Tsesis

In his Article, Professor Tsesis examines the three dominant normative rationales for free speech in the United States. In turn, he critiques the theories that free speech furthers democratic institutions, that free speech furthers personal autonomy, and, lastly, that free speech advances knowledge by perpetuating a marketplace of ideas. While Professor Tsesis finds much to recommend in each theory, he also finds each lacking. He concludes that the present theories are too narrow to describe the range of concerns encompassed by the First Amendment's Free Speech Clause. As such, Tsesis proposes that First Amendment doctrine should reflect a general theory …

The Right To Erasure: Privacy, Data Brokers, And The Indefinite Retention Of Data, Alexander Tsesis

Alexander Tsesis

No abstract provided.

Inflammatory Speech: Outrage Versus Intimidation, Alexander Tsesis

Alexander Tsesis

No abstract provided.

Maxim Constitutionalism: Liberal Equality For The Common Good, Alexander Tsesis

Alexander Tsesis

No abstract provided.

Footholds Of Constitutional Interpretation, Alexander Tsesis

Alexander Tsesis

No abstract provided.

International Trade And U.S. Antitrust Law, J. Kessler, Alexander Tsesis

Alexander Tsesis

No abstract provided.

Self-Government And The Declaration Of Independence, Alexander Tsesis

Alexander Tsesis

No abstract provided.

Due Process In Civil Commitments., Alexander Tsesis

Alexander Tsesis

In one of its most controversial decisions to date, United States v Comstock, the Roberts Court upheld a federal civil commitment statute requiring only an intermediate burden of proof The statute provided for the postsentencing confinement of anyone proven by "clear and convincing evidence" to be mentally ill and dangerous. The law relied on a judicial standard established more than thirty years before. The majority in Comstock missed the opportunity to reassess the precedent in light of recent psychiatric studies indicating that the ambiguity of available diagnostic tools can lead to erroneous insanity assessments and mistake evaluations about patients' likelihood …

Burning Crosses On Campus: University Hate Speech Codes., Alexander Tsesis

Alexander Tsesis

No abstract provided.

Principled Governance: The American Creed And Congressional Authority., Alexander Tsesis

Alexander Tsesis

No abstract provided.

Dignity And Speech: The Regulation Of Hate Speech In A Democracy, Alexander Tsesis

Alexander Tsesis

No abstract provided.

Representative Self-Government And The Declaration Of Independence, Alexander Tsesis

Alexander Tsesis

Legal scholars typically treat the Declaration of Independence as a purely historical document, but as this article explains, the Declaration is relevant to legislative and judicial decisionmaking. After describing why this founding document contains legal significance, I examine two contemporary legal issues through the lens of the Declaration’s prescriptions.

Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment grants Congress the power to make laws that enforce the civil rights clauses in the amendment’s first four sections. In City of Boerne v. Flores and its progeny, however, the Supreme Court decided that it alone can identify fundamental rights and relegated Congress’s power under …

Due Process In Civil Commitments, Alexander Tsesis

Alexander Tsesis

In one of its most controversial decisions to date, United States v. Comstock, the Roberts Court upheld a federal civil commitment statute requiring only an intermediate burden of proof. The statute provided for the postsentencing confinement of anyone proven by “clear and convincing evidence” to be mentally ill and dangerous. The law relied on a judicial standard established more than thirty years before. The majority in Comstock missed the opportunity to reassess the precedent in light of recent psychiatric studies indicating that the ambiguity of available diagnostic tools can lead to erroneous insanity assessments and mistaken evaluations about patients’ likelihood …

Burning Crosses On Campus: University Hate Speech Codes, Alexander Tsesis

Alexander Tsesis

Debates about the value and constitutionality of hate speech regulations on college campuses have deeply divided academics for over a decade. The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Virginia v. Black, recognizing a state’s power to criminalize intentionally intimidating cross burning, at long last provides the key to resolving this heated dispute. The opponents of hate speech codes argue that such regulation guts our concept of free speech. One prominent scholar claims that this censorship would nullify the First Amendment and have “totalitarian implications.” Another constitutional expert, Erwin Chemerinsky, asserts that the “public university simply cannot prohibit the expression of hate, …

Safeguarding Fundamental Rights: Judicial Incursion Into Legislative Authority, Alexander Tsesis

Alexander Tsesis

The Supreme Court recently limited Congress’s ability to pass civil rights statutes for the protection of fundamental rights. Decisions striking sections of the Violence Against Women Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act focused on states’ sovereign immunity. These holdings inadequately analyzed how the Reconstruction Amendments altered federalism by making the federal government primarily responsible for protecting civil rights. The Supreme Court also overlooked principles of liberty and equality lying at the foundation of American governance. The Court’s restrictions on legislative authority to identify fundamental rights and to safeguard them runs counter to the central credo of American governance that …