Free Speech

The circus was packing up when the dark clouds...

Andy Cilek woke up on November 2, 2010, got dressed, and headed to the polls to cast his vote. He’d gotten dressed thousands of times in his life. He never imagined that his T-shirt would take him all the way to the Supreme Court.

“Everybody watched it burn to ashes,” said Anmol Khindri. Khindri, a Kenosha, Wisconsin, resident, watched helplessly as his family business burned down. Rioters destroyed the business, a car dealership. “Nobody did nothing about it—nothing.”

Listening to politicians discuss pop culture would be hilarious, if it wasn’t so pitiful.

“Who funds you?” This is a question that I, and many staff members of public interest law firms and mission-driven nonprofits, encounter frequently.

Socialism, In theory, is economic policy. But in practice, socialism has profound consequences on free speech.

In June, The U.S. Supreme Court came down 5–4 on the side of free speech in National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra. While PLF was not involved, it is noteworthy that the Court’s holding supports PLF’s view of professional speech—that the First Amendment protects the rights of individuals—regardless of their profession—to speak or not speak their minds without government retribution.

When it comes to intolerance, campus administrators have become innovators, turning the marketplace of ideas into an ideological breadline. Postage-stamp-size free speech zones, vague speech codes, and speaker disinvita- tions are driving a national conversation about intellectual intolerance on campus. There is no shortage of examples of the campus speech crisis in action.

Michael Cefali in San Juan Capistrano, CA, and Scott McLean in Alexandria, VA, just wanted to sell their cars. So they did what any American might do and put a “for sale” sign in their car windows. But until PLF stepped in, local bureaucrats fined both men merely for advertising their vehicles for sale, claiming that the First Amendment didn’t protect the sellers because they were engaged in commercial activity.

In June, PLF scored one of the big- gest First Amendment wins in recent years with our victory in Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Mansky (MVA). In MVA, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a broad ban on political apparel at the polling place. The Minnesota law at issue prohibited voters from wearing t-shirts featuring the logo of groups with “recognizable political views”—including groups like PLF, the ACLU, and even Ben and Jerry’s. PLF, representing a voter who was censured for wearing a Tea Party t-shirt, secured a sweeping victory for free speech.

“You have the right to remain silent.” Fans of cop shows are familiar with those words that remind criminal suspects of their constitutional right to avoid incriminating themselves. While this guarantee comes from the Fifth Amendment, the First Amendment freedom of speech also protects the right to remain silent—a right that PLF has unswervingly defended for our entire history.

PLF has always been an effective and eager advocate for First Amendment freedoms. Our most recently argued U.S. Supreme Court case, Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Mansky, upheld the right of voters to wear t-shirts and other apparel that peacefully expresses political views at a polling place. One of our first Supreme Court cases, Keller v. State Bar of California, struck down a law that forced lawyers to contribute money to support bar association lobbying for political positions they oppose.

When Nancy Nemhauser and Lubomir (Lubek) Jastrzebski painted their house in the likeness of Vincent van Gogh’s “The Starry Night,” they didn’t expect to become a national sensation. But that’s exactly where they found themselves after city officials trampled their First Amendment rights by ordering them to remove the mural and threatening them with significant fines.

At the end of the last term, Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement from the U.S. Supreme Court. Although his considerable power as the Court’s “swing justice” occasionally made him a controversial figure, Kennedy’s place in the Court’s history should be defined by his deep appreciation for the role of free speech in our Constitution and society. Hopefully our next Justice will continue his commitment to a strong First Amendment.

Chef Geoff Tracy is an entrepreneur, cookbook author, and owner of three successful restaurants in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area.

When Andy Cilek, executive director of Minnesota Voters Alliance, went to the polls in 2010, he was kept from voting for five hours because a poll worker decided that his clothing violated Minnesota’s “voting dress code.” Eventually, he was allowed to cast his vote, but poll workers took down his name for possible prosecution. All because of a t-shirt.

After the husband passed away from lung cancer, Kimberly Manor decided that she wanted to help other longtime smokers quit and hoped to prevent others from going through the pain she experienced. Kimberly owns and operates Moose Jooce in Lake, Michigan, a store that sells vaping products. These devices, sometimes known more generally as “electronic nicotine delivery” products, provide Kimberly’s customers with a real alternative to smoking, one that many studies and testimonials have suggested could be a much safer alternative.

PLF is going to the U.S. Supreme Court once again, making this our 14th time we’ve been before the high court. This time, we are fighting for the First Amendment rights of voters nation- wide. In Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Mansky, we’re representing Minnesota voters in their challenge to a state- wide ban on political buttons, badges, and t-shirts at the polling place.

As a general matter, Americans like to speak their mind. And since the earliest days of our nation, as political philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville noted, Americans have joined associations to amplify their voices in common cause. The First Amendment protects these fundamental rights.