By William H. Freivogel The tricky thing about the First Amendment is that you have to protect the speech you hate as fiercely as the speech you love. You have to protect leftist speech as much as rightist speech. Communists as much as fascists. Religious fundamentalists as much as atheists. Calls for war as much
By William H. Freivogel and Ted Gest A new Missouri law passed last year deletes the names of victims and witnesses in court documents making Missouri courts the least transparent in the nation, experts say. Among the witness names deleted are police officers. Eugene Volokh, a nationally known libertarian legal commentator, called the law “a
Newspapers are dying. Young people aren’t reading them. Predatory hedge funds are buying them up, laying off reporters, milking them for profits and cutting home delivery. The result is that democracy is losing its eyes and ears and maybe its conscience. That was a theme of Rick Goldsmith’s new documentary on the predatory consequences of
By William H. Freivogel Nina Totenberg told St. Louis audiences last week that the U.S. Supreme Court is the most conservative in 90 years and has lost legitimacy with many Americans. Totenberg has covered the court for the past half century, including more than four decades at NPR. She was speaking Oct. 13 to supporters
Six months ago, GJR published “A citizen’s guide to a U.S. Supreme Court losing its legitimacy.” This follow-up recounts recent ethics controversies and the leading decisions of this past term.) After 18 years, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.’s Supreme Court has the lowest credibility of any court in almost a century. The court’s standing
