Professor: Supreme Court Shouldn’t Protect Speech I Don’t Like
19th January 2015
This Monday, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in the case of Reed v. Town of Gilbert, Arizona, an important free speech case. Garrett Epps, a prominent law professor and contributor to the Atlantic, is deeply concerned that the Court will decide it in a way that leads to increased protection for speech that he does not like. Those who believe that the First Amendment should not be trumped by the subjective preferences of law professors should not fall under Epps’ spell.
What is the case about? The Town of Gilbert, Ariz., has a sign code that categorizes temporary signs and restricts their size, duration and location. Under the sign code, the Good News Community Church’s temporary signs promoting church services are subject to far greater restrictions than temporary signs promoting political, ideological and various other messages. That is, the sign code facially discriminates on the basis of the content of the messages communicated by the signs, effectively enabling government officials to act as censors.