As a dean of a public university law school, do I violate my students’ free speech rights when I encourage them to speak respectfully to one another, to demonstrate civility and to refrain from hateful expression? There are countless instances in which government officials speak out — does that chill freedom of expression among those who disagree with what an official says? In two Supreme Court cases this term, including one decided Wednesday, the justices rightly reaffirmed that speech by government officials violates the 1st Amendment only if it includes an explicit threat of sanctions.
The Supreme Court last dealt with this issue in 1963, in Bantam Books vs. Sullivan. That case involved a Rhode Island Commission to Encourage Morality in Youth that identified “objectionable” books and wrote to sellers urging them to stop selling those books. The letter also informed the recipient that the commission recommended obscenity…
