January 3, 2024

Supreme Court

USA Today: Why the ACLU is working with the NRA to protect Americans' free speech rights

By Jonathan Turley

.....It's chilling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit refused to allow the NRA to prove its case. It rejected any First Amendment claim, despite evidence that New York tried to silence opposing political views.

The Second Circuit declared that even if Vullo had “engaged in unconstitutionally threatening or coercive conduct,” she would be protected by qualified immunity. The decision is a virtual green light for a type of soft censorship that uses surrogates and regulatory pressure…

As shown by the alliance of the ACLU and the NRA in this instance, this is a fight that most citizens should be able to embrace, regardless of our differences. For every Vullo on the Democratic side, there could be a dozen Vullos on the conservative side who use the same type of coercion against pro-abortion or environmental groups. 

The Supreme Court could prevent this race to the bottom by imposing a bright-line rule against content-based discrimination by government agencies. The soft censorship in NRA v. Vullo will have hard consequences for free speech if New York prevails.

Newsweek: Michael Cohen Takes Feud With Donald Trump to Supreme Court

By Katherine Fung

.....Cohen, Trump's former lawyer and fixer, told Newsweek on Tuesday that he plans to appeal a decision from a federal appeals court that rejected his efforts to revive the prison lawsuit against his former boss, and bring the matter all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"The outcome is wrong if democracy is to prevail," Cohen said in a statement. "A writ of habeas corpus cannot be the only consequence to stop a rogue president from weaponizing the Department of Justice from locking up his/her critics in prison because they refuse to waive their first amendment right. We will be filing a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court."

Free Expression

Wall Street Journal: President Claudine Gay Falls at Harvard

By The Editorial Board

.....Claudine Gay’s resignation Tuesday from the presidency of Harvard is a measure of accountability amid scandals on campus antisemitism and plagiarism…

The Harvard Corporation has embarrassed itself throughout these controversies…

The prescription should be clear, at Harvard and beyond. What has been happening on college campuses results from the failure of leaders to support traditional liberal values of free inquiry and debate. Prestigious institutions are racked with ideological protest from a contingent of students and many faculty who seem to care more about activism than learning. Despite the distraction, or worse, that this poses to good academic work, administrators keep flinching instead of drawing hard lines.

Washington Post: Universities and corporations should have the right to remain silent

By Nancy Gibbs

.....[T]hose who cherish free speech should likewise defend its muted twin. Protecting the right to free expression requires respecting silence as a legitimate response, not an act of cowardice or collusion, not a sign of indifference or neutrality. Coerced speech degrades both individual dignity and the norms most important for intelligent public debate. When someone demands that you make a statement, and you demur, as sure as night follows day, they will claim the power to impute opinions to you. Silence, Plato said, gives consent. If you refuse to take a stand, someone will foist one on you.

The Atlantic: What Happens Where the Free-Speech Writ Does Not Run

By James Kirchick

.....Having fled his native country for Germany nearly 20 years ago because of what he describes as America’s “really oppressive” climate of opinion, Hopkins now has reason to reconsider the wisdom of that decision. Facing criminal charges for a tweet, he is getting a taste of his adopted country’s limited tolerance for free expression.

Candidates and Campaigns

Slate: The Big Problem With Small-Dollar Donations

By Ryan Teague Beckwith

.....America loves the grassroots—at least a popularized idea of it…

And what could be more grassroots than a small political donation? The vision of an average American chipping in five or 10 bucks for a candidate they really believe in has entranced Democrats and Republicans for years. On the left, those small-dollar donations are thought to help offset the influence of billionaire donors and special interests, while the right sees them as an army of everyday Americans who are banding together to fight back against liberal celebrities, allegedly woke corporations, and labor unions.

This year, the Republican National Committee even began requiring presidential candidates to get a minimum number of small donations to qualify for its primary debates.

But what if small-dollar donors are … making things worse?

Recent events and political science research indicate that people who make small donations are more ideologically extreme, that they seem to reward politicians who violate democratic norms, and that they may be undermining the ability of political parties to rein in their most problematic members. For now, this appears to be more of an issue for Republicans, but there’s no reason to think Democrats will remain immune to these effects.

Look closely at who’s getting the most money from small donors, and the picture becomes clear.

The States

Axios: Florida's legislative session to tackle Medicaid, AI in political ads

By Yacob Reyes

.....Legislation filed in the Florida House and Senate would require some political advertisements that contain images, video, audio or text generated by artificial intelligence to inform viewers of their use.

Wichita Eagle: Wichita bans corporate political donations on last-minute party-line council vote

By Matthew Kelly

.....Corporations and limited liability companies will no longer be allowed to contribute to Wichita City Council and mayoral campaigns after a contentious debate and 4-3 vote Tuesday.

The four Democrats on the council approved the measure over the objection of their Republican colleagues during the final meeting before incoming Mayor Lily Wu, a Libertarian, and two new Republican council members take office.