TY - JOUR
T1 - "Freedom for the thought that we hate"
T2 - Why westboro had to win
AU - Russomanno, Joseph
PY - 2012/3
Y1 - 2012/3
N2 - Justice OliverWendell Holmes' belief that the Constitution calls for the principle of free thought - "not free thought for those who agree with us but freedom for the thought that we hate" - was severely tested when the father of a fallen Marine sued members of the Westboro Baptist Church who picketed near his son's funeral service. Consistent with its traditions and precedents, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled 8-1 that the First Amendment protected church members' offensive speech from tort liability. In ruling as it did, the Court properly chose to consider only the case elements it was presented, refused to create a new category of unprotected speech, and in turn eroded the reach of intentional infliction of emotional distress in speech-related cases. "The Court is out of the business of creating new categories of unprotected speech. Get over it".
AB - Justice OliverWendell Holmes' belief that the Constitution calls for the principle of free thought - "not free thought for those who agree with us but freedom for the thought that we hate" - was severely tested when the father of a fallen Marine sued members of the Westboro Baptist Church who picketed near his son's funeral service. Consistent with its traditions and precedents, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled 8-1 that the First Amendment protected church members' offensive speech from tort liability. In ruling as it did, the Court properly chose to consider only the case elements it was presented, refused to create a new category of unprotected speech, and in turn eroded the reach of intentional infliction of emotional distress in speech-related cases. "The Court is out of the business of creating new categories of unprotected speech. Get over it".
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84859649316&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84859649316&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/10811680.2012.662885
DO - 10.1080/10811680.2012.662885
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84859649316
SN - 1081-1680
VL - 17
SP - 133
EP - 173
JO - Communication Law and Policy
JF - Communication Law and Policy
IS - 2
ER -