First Amendment and Judge Roberts
Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts was confronted with a line of questioning today by Ohio Senator Mike DeWine about First Amendment speech issues. DeWine said, correctly in my view, that our society is seeing a shrinking of the "public square." He talked about how we live in gated communities (some of the other half does, at least), drive to strip malls and, basically, live our lives on private property. We don't hang out in the town plaza engaging in First Amendment activities. Senator DeWine also complained about local governments prohibiting people from putting signs on their own lawns. Many of those regulations, DeWine said, have been held constitutional as content-neutral time, place and manner regulations.
Judge Roberts agreed and said technology has something to do with the shrinking public square, but Judge Roberts did not indicate whether he, as a Supreme Court justice, would take that into consideration in deciding First Amendment cases.
Judge Roberts did, however, refer to United States v. Kokinda, 497 U.S. 720 (1990), which he argued before the Court when he worked for the federal government. Judge Roberts said he recalled that much of public forum doctrine at that time was confusing and unsettled, and, he said, it remains so even today.
Judge Roberts agreed and said technology has something to do with the shrinking public square, but Judge Roberts did not indicate whether he, as a Supreme Court justice, would take that into consideration in deciding First Amendment cases.
Judge Roberts did, however, refer to United States v. Kokinda, 497 U.S. 720 (1990), which he argued before the Court when he worked for the federal government. Judge Roberts said he recalled that much of public forum doctrine at that time was confusing and unsettled, and, he said, it remains so even today.
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