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Articles 31 - 60 of 95

Full-Text Articles in First Amendment

Privacy, Press, And The Right To Be Forgotten In The United States, Amy Gajda Mar 2018

Privacy, Press, And The Right To Be Forgotten In The United States, Amy Gajda

Washington Law Review

When the European Court of Justice in effect accepted a Right to Be Forgotten in 2014, ruling that a man had a right to privacy in his past economic troubles, many suggested that a similar right would be neither welcomed nor constitutional in the United States given the Right’s impact on First Amendment-related freedoms. Even so, a number of state and federal courts have recently used language that embraces in a normative sense the appropriateness of such a Right. These court decisions protect an individual’s personal history in a press-relevant way: they balance individual privacy rights against the public value …


The State Department Can Gun Down 3-D Printed Firearms, Derk Westermeyer Jan 2018

The State Department Can Gun Down 3-D Printed Firearms, Derk Westermeyer

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

In 1976, Congress enacted the Arms Export Control Act (“AECA”), giving the President broad power to control imports and exports of defense articles. At the time, defense articles included any “technical data” relating to weapons, such as the manufacturing blueprints of a firearm. Generally, this technical data was only in the hands of weapon manufacturers. After forty years of technological advances, however, this “technical data” can now be accessed by anyone in the world in a matter of seconds. Thanks to 3-D printing, a person can use this data to personally manufacture a fully functional plastic weapon within a few …


“And Yet It Moves”—The First Amendment And Certainty, Ronald K.L. Collins Jan 2018

“And Yet It Moves”—The First Amendment And Certainty, Ronald K.L. Collins

Articles

Surprisingly few, if any, works on the First Amendment have explored the relation between free speech and certainty. The same holds true for decisional law. While this relationship is inherent in much free speech theory and doctrine, its treatment has nonetheless been rather opaque. In what follows, the author teases out— philosophically, textually, and operationally—the significance of that relationship and what it means for our First Amendment jurisprudence. In the process, he examines how the First Amendment operates to counter claims of certainty and likewise how it is employed to demand a degree of certainty from those who wish to …


Reply Brief. Crouse V. Caldwell, 138 S.Ct. 470 (2017) (No. 17-242), Eric Schnapper, Steven H. Goldblatt, Shon Hopwood, Marybeth Mullaney, Jennifer Munter Stark Oct 2017

Reply Brief. Crouse V. Caldwell, 138 S.Ct. 470 (2017) (No. 17-242), Eric Schnapper, Steven H. Goldblatt, Shon Hopwood, Marybeth Mullaney, Jennifer Munter Stark

Court Briefs

QUESTIONS PRESENTED (1) When disputes of fact arise regarding whether speech by a public employee is protected by the First Amendment, should those factual issues be resolved by a trier of fact (the rule in the Second, Third, Sixth, Eighth and Tenth Circuits), or by the court as a matter of constitutional law (the rule in the Fourth Circuit)? (2) When a government employee engages in speech on a subject of public concern, and a court applying Pickering balances the First Amendment interest against any contrary interests of the employer, should the extent of that First Amendment interest be “lessened” …


Petition For A Writ Of Certiorari, Crouse V. Caldwell, 138 S.Ct. 470 (2017) (No. 17-242), Eric Schnapper, Steven H. Goldblatt, Shon Hopwood, Marybeth Mullaney, Jennifer Munter Stark Aug 2017

Petition For A Writ Of Certiorari, Crouse V. Caldwell, 138 S.Ct. 470 (2017) (No. 17-242), Eric Schnapper, Steven H. Goldblatt, Shon Hopwood, Marybeth Mullaney, Jennifer Munter Stark

Court Briefs

QUESTIONS PRESENTED (1) When disputes of fact arise regarding whether speech by a public employee is protected by the First Amendment, should those factual issues be resolved by a trier of fact (the rule in the Second, Third, Sixth, Eighth and Tenth Circuits), or by the court as a matter of constitutional law (the rule in the Fourth Circuit)? (2) When a government employee engages in speech on a subject of public concern, and a court applying Pickering balances the First Amendment interest against any contrary interests of the employer, should the extent of that First Amendment interest be “lessened” …


Revenge Porn And Narrowing The Cda: Litigating A Web-Based Tort In Washington, Jessy R. Nations Jan 2017

Revenge Porn And Narrowing The Cda: Litigating A Web-Based Tort In Washington, Jessy R. Nations

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

Effective September 2015, the Washington State Legislature passed two statutes which created both civil and criminal liability against individuals who distribute "intimate images" of others without their consent. These statutes were created to combat the modern phenomenon colloquially known as "revenge porn." Revenge porn is the non-consensual distribution of nude or sexually explicit photographs or videos, created with the intent to humiliate or harass the person these images depict. In addition to causing emotional damage to the victim, revenge porn can also produce broader consequences such as loss of employment and stalking. Traditionally, litigating these kinds of offenses has been …


Jail (E)Mail: Free Speech Implications Of Granting Inmates Access To Electronic Messaging Services, Brennen J. Johnson Jan 2016

Jail (E)Mail: Free Speech Implications Of Granting Inmates Access To Electronic Messaging Services, Brennen J. Johnson

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

The First Amendment protects not only our right to share ideas, but also to some extent, our right to choose the specific method by which we share them. Generally speaking, these protections apply to inmates’ rights to communicate with those outside of prison. However, the protection of those rights must be balanced with the penological interests of prisons and jails. Electronic messaging has now become a standard form of communication within most American homes and businesses. Accordingly, the Federal Bureau of Prisons has implemented the TRULINCS program, a program which allows inmates to communicate with those outside of prison through …


Real-Time Sports Data And The First Amendment, Ryan M. Rodenberg, John T. Holden, Asa D. Brown Aug 2015

Real-Time Sports Data And The First Amendment, Ryan M. Rodenberg, John T. Holden, Asa D. Brown

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

Technological advancements have created an emergent challenge for organizations attempting to monetize real-time information. Real-time data as a commodity is especially relevant in the sports industry. Sports leagues increasingly seek to control the dissemination of real-time data in conjunction with lucrative distribution agreements. We analyze the legal status of real-time sports data under both intellectual property law and the First Amendment, with our case-by-case analysis extending to spectators, gamblers, journalists, and non-gambling entrepreneurs. Although we conclude that the First Amendment protections are broad across all four categories, particularly when the underlying sporting event takes place on public land, we find …


Much Ado About Something: The First Amendment And Mandatory Labeling Of Genetically Engineered Foods, Stephen Tan, Brian Epley Jun 2014

Much Ado About Something: The First Amendment And Mandatory Labeling Of Genetically Engineered Foods, Stephen Tan, Brian Epley

Washington Law Review

This Article evaluates the free speech implications of laws requiring that GE foods be labeled and concludes that such regulations would meet all First Amendment requirements for compelled commercial speech. Part I traces the history of food labeling in the United States, the advent of genetic engineering, and the application of that technology in agriculture and the food industry. Part II evaluates the scope of commercial free speech and the appropriate test to be applied in determining whether a GE food labeling law would violate the First Amendment. Part III examines the impacts of an agricultural and food system increasingly …


Much Ado About Something: The First Amendment And Mandatory Labeling Of Genetically Engineered Foods, Stephen Tan, Brian Epley Jun 2014

Much Ado About Something: The First Amendment And Mandatory Labeling Of Genetically Engineered Foods, Stephen Tan, Brian Epley

Washington Law Review

This Article evaluates the free speech implications of laws requiring that GE foods be labeled and concludes that such regulations would meet all First Amendment requirements for compelled commercial speech. Part I traces the history of food labeling in the United States, the advent of genetic engineering, and the application of that technology in agriculture and the food industry. Part II evaluates the scope of commercial free speech and the appropriate test to be applied in determining whether a GE food labeling law would violate the First Amendment. Part III examines the impacts of an agricultural and food system increasingly …


Commercial Religious Exercise: Translating Commercial Speech Doctrine To The Free Exercise Clause, Danieli Evans Jan 2014

Commercial Religious Exercise: Translating Commercial Speech Doctrine To The Free Exercise Clause, Danieli Evans

Articles

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and implementing regulations require for-profit businesses with more than fifty employees to include contraceptive products in their health care coverage for employees. Throughout the country, privately held corporations and their owners challenged this requirement on the grounds that it violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which states that the government shall not “substantially burden” a religious practice unless the regulation is “the least restrictive means” of serving a “compelling governmental interest.” The employers argued that requiring them to include contraceptives in employees’ health coverage substantially burdened their religious opposition to using certain …


A First Amendment Defense To The Federal Cyberstalking Statute In The Age Of Twitter, Christopher Young Jul 2013

A First Amendment Defense To The Federal Cyberstalking Statute In The Age Of Twitter, Christopher Young

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

Real-time information technology facilitates more efficient channels of communication. As communication becomes nearly instantaneous and further reaching, it seems probable that more expression will fall within the scope of cyberharassment and cyberstalking laws. Attorneys who represent clients indicted on such criminal charges need to familiarize themselves with possible defenses. This Article suggests invoking the overbreadth doctrine to exonerate a client who is charged with violating the federal cyberstalking statute.


A Tale Of Two Greenmoss Builders, Robert M. O'Neil Mar 2013

A Tale Of Two Greenmoss Builders, Robert M. O'Neil

Washington Law Review

If ever a pending Supreme Court case deserved the merciful disposition of “improvidently granted,” it would seem to be Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. v. Greenmoss Builders, Inc. Many factors seem to warrant such interment for an elusive and wholly unsatisfying controversy. Arguably, by any objective standard, this case should never have gone beyond a routine and little noted denial of certioriari. Against this unhappy background, let me offer several countervailing and compelling factors that seem to warrant an alternative disposition.


The Landmark That Wasn't: A First Amendment Play In Five Acts, Lee Levine, Stephen Wermiel Mar 2013

The Landmark That Wasn't: A First Amendment Play In Five Acts, Lee Levine, Stephen Wermiel

Washington Law Review

What follows is an original case study of our First Amendment law of free expression and how it is created by the Supreme Court. Drawing heavily on heretofore unpublished internal papers from the chambers of Justice William Brennan and other Justices, this Article reveals how the 1964 landmark decision in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan was once in serious jeopardy of being overruled. In the course of this discussion, and in their examination of the evolution of the Court’s decision in Dun & Bradstreet v. Greenmoss Builders (1985), the authors describe and analyze: (1) how and to what extent …


Dun & Bradstreet V. Greenmoss Builders As An Example Of Justice Powell's Approach To Constitutional Jurisprudence, Paul M. Smith Mar 2013

Dun & Bradstreet V. Greenmoss Builders As An Example Of Justice Powell's Approach To Constitutional Jurisprudence, Paul M. Smith

Washington Law Review

Given this welcome opportunity to comment on the Levine and Wermiel account, I thought I would use it to offer some thoughts about Justice Powell’s approach to constitutional jurisprudence, particularly in First Amendment cases—an approach well illustrated by the story of Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. v. Greenmoss Builders, Inc.


Dun And Bradstreet Revisited—A Comment On Levine And Wermiel, Scott L. Nelson Mar 2013

Dun And Bradstreet Revisited—A Comment On Levine And Wermiel, Scott L. Nelson

Washington Law Review

Lee Levine and Stephen Wermiel’s account of the internal history of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. v. Greenmoss Builders, Inc. convincingly demonstrates the utility of the papers of retired Justices in facilitating a painstaking reconstruction of the Court’s deliberations. As someone who clerked for Justice Byron White in the October 1984 and 1985 Terms and was thus present during the second of the two years in which the Court considered Dun & Bradstreet, I will not comment on the accuracy of the particular details the Article reports or add any inside information about the Court’s …


Talking Drugs: The Burden Of Proof In Post-Garcetti Speech Retaliation Claims, Thomas E. Hudson Oct 2012

Talking Drugs: The Burden Of Proof In Post-Garcetti Speech Retaliation Claims, Thomas E. Hudson

Washington Law Review

Law Enforcement agencies fire their employees for speaking out in favor of drug legalization, which leads the employees to sue their former employers for violating their First Amendment Free Speech rights. These employee claims fall under the U.S. Supreme Court’s complex speech retaliation test, most recently articulated in Garcetti v. Ceballos. The analysis reveals that circuit courts are inconsistent as to who bears the burden of proving that they prevail under “Pickering balancing,” and how they should construct that burden. This Comment argues that U.S. Supreme Court precedent demands that the employer bears the “Pickering balancing” burden, and that …


Public Discourse, Expert Knowledge, And The Press, Joseph Blocher Jun 2012

Public Discourse, Expert Knowledge, And The Press, Joseph Blocher

Washington Law Review

This Essay identifies and elaborates two complications raised by Robert Post’s Democracy, Expertise, and Academic Freedom, and in doing so attempts to show how Post’s theory can account for constitutional protection of the press. The first complication is a potential circularity arising from the relationships between the concepts of democratic legitimation, public discourse, and protected social practices. Democratic legitimation predicates First Amendment coverage on participation in public discourse, whose boundaries are defined as those social practices necessary for the formation of public opinion. But close examination of the relationships between these three concepts raises the question of whether public …


The First Amendment's Epistemological Problem, Paul Horwitz Jun 2012

The First Amendment's Epistemological Problem, Paul Horwitz

Washington Law Review

In this Article, I treat the recent interest in these epistemological issues as an opportunity to explore an important aspect of Post’s project: the uneasy role of truth within First Amendment doctrine, and the relationship between courts and those institutions that we view generally as epistemically reliable sources of knowledge. My examination suggests that the First Amendment faces what I call an epistemological problem: specifically, the problem of figuring out just how knowledge fits within the First Amendment. The growing attention to the epistemology problem among leading First Amendment scholars is significant enough to warrant examination. Although I offer some …


Democratic Competence, Constitutional Disorder, And The Freedom Of The Press, Stephen I. Vladeck Jun 2012

Democratic Competence, Constitutional Disorder, And The Freedom Of The Press, Stephen I. Vladeck

Washington Law Review

In Democracy, Expertise, and Academic Freedom: A First Amendment Jurisprudence for the Modern State, Robert Post offers a powerful argument for why the First Amendment should protect the manner in which professional disciplines produce expert speech. This symposium Essay responds to Post’s book by focusing on the potential interaction between Post’s theory of “democratic competence” and the freedom of the press. Using the WikiLeaks affair as a foil, this Essay concludes that a “democratic competence” approach might provide a more coherent theoretical underpinning for according constitutional protection to newsgathering (as distinct from publication), and might thereby help to answer …


Understanding The First Amendment, Robert Post Jun 2012

Understanding The First Amendment, Robert Post

Washington Law Review

It is a rare privilege to be read and engaged by such thoughtful and insightful commentators as the Washington Law Review has assembled. It is exhilarating to participate in a conversation of this range and intensity. I am very grateful to the Washington Law Review, Ronald K.L. Collins and David Skover, and the University of Washington School of Law, for making this symposium possible.


The Guardians Of Knowledge In The Modern State: Post's Republic And The First Amendment, Ronald K.L. Collins, David M. Skover Jun 2012

The Guardians Of Knowledge In The Modern State: Post's Republic And The First Amendment, Ronald K.L. Collins, David M. Skover

Washington Law Review

No abstract provided.


A View From The First Amendment Trenches: Washington State's New Protections For Public Discourse And Democracy, Bruce E.H. Johnson, Sarah K. Duran Jun 2012

A View From The First Amendment Trenches: Washington State's New Protections For Public Discourse And Democracy, Bruce E.H. Johnson, Sarah K. Duran

Washington Law Review

In his latest book, Democracy, Expertise, and Academic Freedom: A First Amendment Jurisprudence for the Modern State, Dean Robert Post promotes the concept of “democratic legitimation” as the cornerstone of democratic decision making. Dean Post defines “democratic legitimation” as “all efforts” to influence “public opinion.” As Post explains, “[d]emocracy requires that government action be tethered to public opinion” because “public opinion can direct government action in an endless variety of directions.” As a result, First Amendment coverage should extend to all communications that form public opinion, he contends. Those who object to speech aimed at influencing public opinion have …


The First Amendment, The Courts, And "Picking Winners", Thomas L. Ambro, Paul J. Safier Jun 2012

The First Amendment, The Courts, And "Picking Winners", Thomas L. Ambro, Paul J. Safier

Washington Law Review

Dean Robert Post’s book—Democracy, Expertise, and Academic Freedom—reflects and requires serious thought about our First Amendment. This Essay addresses just two of the many interesting assertions Dean Post makes. The first is his claim that the advancement of knowledge in a democracy springs primarily from the knowledge that experts gather in discerning good from bad ideas, and that recognizing this value requires courts to develop criteria for determining which viewpoints are better in ongoing debates among experts. The second is Dean Post’s contention that the U.S. Constitution protects an individual right to academic freedom, which requires enforcing this …


Selected Bibliography Of First Amendment Scholarship, Robert C. Post Jun 2012

Selected Bibliography Of First Amendment Scholarship, Robert C. Post

Washington Law Review

Consists of articles, books, and book chapers.


False Valor: Amending The Stolen Valor Act To Conform With The First Amendment's Fraudulent Speech Exception, Jeffery C. Barnum Dec 2011

False Valor: Amending The Stolen Valor Act To Conform With The First Amendment's Fraudulent Speech Exception, Jeffery C. Barnum

Washington Law Review

The Stolen Valor Act (SVA or “the Act”) was enacted to protect against “fraudulent claims” of receipt of military honors or decorations. It does so by criminalizing false verbal or written claims regarding such awards. However, the Act failed to include all of the elements of an anti-fraud measure required by the First Amendment. Most critically, the SVA fails to require actual reliance on the part of the defrauded. Although fraud is generally not protected by the First Amendment, courts cannot construe the SVA as an anti-fraud measure if the statute does not require actual reliance. Therefore, the SVA as …


A Cure For A "Public Concern": Washington's New Anti-Slapp Law, Tom Wyrwich Oct 2011

A Cure For A "Public Concern": Washington's New Anti-Slapp Law, Tom Wyrwich

Washington Law Review

In March 2010, the Washington State Legislature passed its Act Limiting Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation. The new Act fills a critical void in Washington’s protection of free expression and petition rights. The Washington Act protects the free expression of Washington citizens by shielding them from meritless lawsuits designed only to incur costs and chill future expression. This Comment offers interpretive guidance for Washington courts by examining the new law, its legislative history, its constitutional underpinnings, and its relationship to the influential California anti-SLAPP statute on which it is modeled. Although the Washington Act shares many identical provisions with the …


From Substance To Shadows: An Essay On Salazar V. Buono And Establishment Clause Remedies, David B. Owens Jan 2011

From Substance To Shadows: An Essay On Salazar V. Buono And Establishment Clause Remedies, David B. Owens

Articles

Most disputes about the Establishment Clause center on its substantive meaning; whether, for example, a state subsidy promotes religion, the phrase “In God We Trust” can appear on currency, or a display of the Ten Commandments is unconstitutional. Often overlooked and lurking behind these substantive disputes is a question about what remedies are available when an Establishment Clause violation is found. Typically, an injunction prohibiting the subsidy, practice, or display is the choice. In Salazar v. Buono, however, the Supreme Court was confronted with an unusual case for two reasons. First, the doctrine of res judicata formally barred the …


Article I, Section 11: A Poor "Plan B" For Washington's Religious Pharmacists, Noel E. Horton Nov 2010

Article I, Section 11: A Poor "Plan B" For Washington's Religious Pharmacists, Noel E. Horton

Washington Law Review

In Stormans, Inc. v. Selecky, a group of Washington pharmacists contended their religious beliefs precluded them from dispensing the drug Plan B, a post-coital emergency contraceptive. They based their argument on rights conferred by the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. A United States District Court found in the pharmacists’ favor and enjoined enforcement of rules issued by the Washington State Board of Pharmacy requiring pharmacies to deliver medications. The Ninth Circuit reversed, finding that the district court erroneously applied a heightened level of scrutiny to a neutral law of general applicability. Interestingly, …


Staying Neutral: How Washington State Courts Should Approach Negligent Supervision Claims Against Religious Organizations, Kelly H. Sheridan Aug 2010

Staying Neutral: How Washington State Courts Should Approach Negligent Supervision Claims Against Religious Organizations, Kelly H. Sheridan

Washington Law Review

The torts of negligent hiring, supervision, and retention place a duty on employers to prevent their employees from using the places, things, or tasks entrusted to them to harm foreseeable victims. The negligent employment torts create an independent duty under which plaintiffs may pursue an action when suits brought under a vicarious liability or breach of fiduciary duty theory would fail. For victims of sexual misconduct by religious leaders, negligent supervision claims against religious organizations are a crucial means of remedying serious and lasting injuries. Washington state law recognizes negligent supervision, and Washington courts have applied it to religious organizations, …