Law Commons^™

“There Is Something Unique … About The Government Funding Of The Arts For First Amendment Purposes”: An Institutional Approach To Granting Government Entities Free Speech Rights, Leslie Cooper Mahaffey

Duke Law Journal

The common understanding of the First Amendment is that its purpose is primarily libertarian, serving to protect private citizens' expression from government censorship. In the modern era, however, the government's pervasive presence-especially in the role of funder of private activity-has blurred the lines between governmental and private speech. Further, the relatively new, increasingly influential government speech doctrine-which dictates that the government will not be subjected to First Amendment scrutiny when it is engaging in communication-has been the Supreme Court's guidepost of late when the Court has been confronted with a case involving expression with both private and public elements. The …