Whether a given category of speech enjoys First Amendment protection depends upon a categorical balancing of the value of the speech against its societal costs.
--Solicitor General Elena Kagan,
Argument in U.S. v. Stevens
Obama nominee for U.S. Supreme Court.
Argument in U.S. v. Stevens
Obama nominee for U.S. Supreme Court.
(HT: Matt Welch)
5 comments:
I understand how that idea could get out of hand, but isn't that just describing the idea that its illegal to shout fire in a crowded movie theater?
That is not a case of weighing societal interests in a case of free speech. That's a case of protecting a theater owner and his contractual customers from false alarms.
Didn't Rothbard write that that Holmes misunderstood property rights with that example?
Yes, he did.
Sometimes, shouting fire in a crowded movie theater is an act of heroism that saves lives.
Its seems a very bad idea to ban it, as if the building is on fire I would surely appreciate someone doing just that.
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