In recent years, the tension between the values of the First Amendment Free Speech doctrine and the desire to protect minority communities against the destructive effects of hateful speech has been investigated extensively. A recent example is the compelling discussion provided by Professor Nadine Strossen in her 2018 book, Hate Speech: Why We Should Resist It with Free Speech, Not Censorship. Her book was one of the focal points of a 2019 conference on free speech at Mitchell Hamline School of Law. Another focal point was the Supreme Court’s landmark 1931 decision, Near v. Minnesota. In this decision, the Supreme Court established the now-familiar rule against prior restraints, thereby invalidating an infamous injunction issued against a Minneapolis newspaper ninety years before the date of the conference.

Continue reading “Antisemitism, Near, and a Threshold for Ignominy” →