Quote:
Originally Posted by Danzig
I'm sorry, but I don't see why it would make it easier to suppress speech.
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Right now if a 1st Ammendment case makes it to the Supreme Court, the Court's focus is on the impact of the law they are reviewing. If the Court feels that a new law has the effect of restricting free speech, that law will probably be overturned by the Court.
Kagan is saying that the government's reasons for restricting free speech were what mattered most and not necessarily the effect of those restrictions on speech. That is a real departure. That would make it easier for the government to restrict speech.
Right now, it's very hard for the government to restrict free speech because if they pass a law that restricts free speech, the law will probably be overturned because the Court is focused on the effects of the law. Any law that has the effect of limiting free speech will probably be overturned. If the Court starts changing the way they look at these cases and decides that it's not that important whether a new law restricts free speech as long as the "intent" of the law is good, then that would be a weakening of our 1st Ammendment protections.