Constitutional law professor specializing in speech, religion, and women's rights.
I look at the First Amendment through an equality lens. In a fight between liberty and equality, I root for equality.
Likes: art, science, LGBTQ rights, critical race theory, separation of church & state
Dislikes: disinformation, Christian nationalism, originalism
Trump's Lies: The Unconstitutionality of Government Propaganda https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3552222
The surge of government propaganda poses troubling questions for the health of our democracy, which requires political accountability and the valid consent of the governed to thrive.
The Free Speech Clause as currently interpreted has no part to play in combating government propaganda. It is time to revisit that conclusion.
Hawaii Supreme Court rejects following Supreme Court's lead in interpreting its own constitution's Est Clause.
"It would be discordant to require that the Hawai‘i Establishment Clause be construed based on the historical practices and understandings of the Founding Fathers given that the Hawai‘i Constitution was adopted by its electorate in 1959, one-hundred and seventy-two years after the U.S. Constitution was adopted. ... "
But its the concurrence you should read
https://religionclause.blogspot.com/2025/09/hawaii-supreme-court-interprets-state.html
US justice department removes study finding far-right extremists commit ‘far more’ violence in US
The vanished study opened with: “Since 1990, far-right extremists have committed far more ideologically motivated homicides than far-left or radical Islamist extremists, including 227 events that took more than 520 lives. In this same period, far-left extremists committed 42 ideologically motivated attacks that took 78 lives.”
Actually a pretty well know fact to those who care about facts
10th Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Fraud Claims Against LDS Church https://religionclause.blogspot.com/2025/08/10th-circuit-affirms-dismissal-of-fraud.html
Niche decision
"We conclude that the church autonomy doctrine applies to Plaintiffs’ allegations about the Church’s alleged misrepresentations and omissions about its history, because the dispute about the accuracy of the Church’s representations is ecclesiastical, not “purely secular.” "
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing the Justice Department to prosecute people for burning the American flag. This action challenges a 1989 Supreme Court ruling that protects flag burning as political expression. Trump argues that flag burning incites violence and should result in a one-year jail sentence. The order also instructs the attorney general to challenge the 1989 ruling. Critics, including civil liberties advocates, question the legality of Trump's move, saying it conflicts with First Amendment rights. Trump has long expressed a desire for consequences for flag burning, despite constitutional protections.
Arkansas Housing Development Restricted to White Residents Sparks Legal Concerns https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/19/realestate/arkansas-white-housing-return-to-land.html
Well, that is one way mealy mouthed way to say racist white supremacists are blatantly violating the law
‘State-driven censorship’: new wave of book bans hits Florida school districts https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/16/florida-new-book-bans
"The books taken off the school shelves included The Diary of Anne Frank ..."
WTF Florida. What a third rate state.
Skrmetti is pure Christian nationalism
Link: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-477_2cp3.pdf
We will impose by law our conservative Christian views and everyone must abide by them.
#SupremeCourt #SCOTUS #Skrmetti #LGBTQ #ChristianNationalism
3rd Circuit: Class Videos on Islam Did Not Violate Establishment Clause https://religionclause.blogspot.com/2025/05/3rd-circuit-class-videos-on-islam-did.html
It was a 7th grade World Cultures and Geography where they learned about multiple world religions and "[The] videos were presented in an academic rather than devotional context, they do 'not come close to crossing any line' separating permissible curricular materials from impermissible proselytization....
Seems like a silly suit
Trump orders a report
Lo and behold, report agrees with his view:
"the report does imply that health-care providers should refuse to offer gender-affirming care to adolescents and young adults on the basis that such care comes with the potential for risk — despite little evidence for that risk actually being found in the report." https://rewirenewsgroup.com/2025/05/08/administration-condemns-gender-affirming-care-for-youth-in-report-that-finds-sparse-evidence-of-harm/
Speaking of manipulations of science
