[Peace-discuss] Law School Off Campus!
Boyle, Francis A
fboyle at illinois.edu
Sat Jun 17 12:46:10 UTC 2017
A generation ago Belden and I were both Veterans of the CIA Off Campus Movement here, Belden actually being arrested by the University Police because of his act of courage, integrity and principle challenging the CIA presence on this Campus. Well I am now starting a new Movement: Law School Off Campus!
Fab
Francis A. Boyle
Law Building
504 E. Pennsylvania Ave.
Champaign IL 61820 USA
217-333-7954 (phone)
217-244-1478 (fax)
(personal comments only)
From: Boyle, Francis A
Sent: Saturday, June 17, 2017 7:30 AM
To: Karen Aram <karenaram at hotmail.com>
Cc: David Green <davegreen84 at yahoo.com>; sherwoodross10 at gmail.com; peace-discuss at anti-war.net; C. G. ESTABROOK <carl at newsfromneptune.com>; a-fields at uiuc.edu; Hoffman, Valerie J <vhoffman at illinois.edu>; Joe Lauria <joelauria at gmail.com>; Miller, Joseph Thomas <jtmiller at illinois.edu>; Szoke, Ron <r-szoke at illinois.edu>; Arlene Hickory <a23h23 at yahoo.com>; David Swanson <davidcnswanson at gmail.com>; peace-discuss-request at lists.chambana.net; abass10 at gmail.com; mickalideh at gmail.com; Lina Thorne <lina at worldcantwait.net>; chicago at worldcantwait.net; Jay <futureup2us at gmail.com>; Estabrook, Carl G <galliher at illinois.edu>; Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net; David Johnson <davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net>
Subject: RE: Vikram David Amar - Remaining Faithful to Free Speech and Academic Freedom - Jun 15, 2017
I trust you can all comprehend how much Evil this law school has inflicted after five years of direct and personal control by the CIA, Mossad, Moore,Hurd, and Torture. Killer Koh is only the tip of the iceberg. This Law School is a Cancer eating away at the Heart of this Campus and of our Good Community, where I have lived, taught and raised my family since July of 1978 when I first moved here from Boston.Fab.
Francis A. Boyle
Law Building
504 E. Pennsylvania Ave.
Champaign IL 61820 USA
217-333-7954 (phone)
217-244-1478 (fax)
(personal comments only)
From: Boyle, Francis A
Sent: Friday, June 16, 2017 11:35 AM
To: Karen Aram <karenaram at hotmail.com<mailto:karenaram at hotmail.com>>
Cc: David Green <davegreen84 at yahoo.com<mailto:davegreen84 at yahoo.com>>; sherwoodross10 at gmail.com<mailto:sherwoodross10 at gmail.com>; peace-discuss at anti-war.net<mailto:peace-discuss at anti-war.net>; C. G. ESTABROOK <carl at newsfromneptune.com<mailto:carl at newsfromneptune.com>>; a-fields at uiuc.edu<mailto:a-fields at uiuc.edu>; Hoffman, Valerie J <vhoffman at illinois.edu<mailto:vhoffman at illinois.edu>>; Joe Lauria <joelauria at gmail.com<mailto:joelauria at gmail.com>>; Miller, Joseph Thomas <jtmiller at illinois.edu<mailto:jtmiller at illinois.edu>>; Szoke, Ron <r-szoke at illinois.edu<mailto:r-szoke at illinois.edu>>; Arlene Hickory <a23h23 at yahoo.com<mailto:a23h23 at yahoo.com>>; David Swanson <davidcnswanson at gmail.com<mailto:davidcnswanson at gmail.com>>; peace-discuss-request at lists.chambana.net<mailto:peace-discuss-request at lists.chambana.net>; abass10 at gmail.com<mailto:abass10 at gmail.com>; mickalideh at gmail.com<mailto:mickalideh at gmail.com>; Lina Thorne <lina at worldcantwait.net<mailto:lina at worldcantwait.net>>; chicago at worldcantwait.net<mailto:chicago at worldcantwait.net>; Jay <futureup2us at gmail.com<mailto:futureup2us at gmail.com>>; Estabrook, Carl G <galliher at illinois.edu<mailto:galliher at illinois.edu>>; Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net<mailto:Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>; David Johnson <davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net<mailto:davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net>>
Subject: RE: Vikram David Amar - Remaining Faithful to Free Speech and Academic Freedom - Jun 15, 2017
In other words, for five years CIA/Mossad/Torture ran this Law School and Everyone and Everything about it. So of course we ended up with Killer Koh on October 28, 2016. Plus ca change….fab.
Francis A. Boyle
Law Building
504 E. Pennsylvania Ave.
Champaign, IL 61820 USA
217-333-7954 (phone)
217-244-1478 (fax)
(personal comments only)
From: Boyle, Francis A
Sent: Friday, June 16, 2017 11:22 AM
To: Karen Aram <karenaram at hotmail.com<mailto:karenaram at hotmail.com>>
Cc: David Green <davegreen84 at yahoo.com<mailto:davegreen84 at yahoo.com>>; sherwoodross10 at gmail.com<mailto:sherwoodross10 at gmail.com>; peace-discuss at anti-war.net<mailto:peace-discuss at anti-war.net>; C. G. ESTABROOK <carl at newsfromneptune.com<mailto:carl at newsfromneptune.com>>; a-fields at uiuc.edu<mailto:a-fields at uiuc.edu>; Hoffman, Valerie J <vhoffman at illinois.edu<mailto:vhoffman at illinois.edu>>; Joe Lauria <joelauria at gmail.com<mailto:joelauria at gmail.com>>; Miller, Joseph Thomas <jtmiller at illinois.edu<mailto:jtmiller at illinois.edu>>; Szoke, Ron <r-szoke at illinois.edu<mailto:r-szoke at illinois.edu>>; Arlene Hickory <a23h23 at yahoo.com<mailto:a23h23 at yahoo.com>>; David Swanson <davidcnswanson at gmail.com<mailto:davidcnswanson at gmail.com>>; peace-discuss-request at lists.chambana.net<mailto:peace-discuss-request at lists.chambana.net>; abass10 at gmail.com<mailto:abass10 at gmail.com>; mickalideh at gmail.com<mailto:mickalideh at gmail.com>; Lina Thorne <lina at worldcantwait.net<mailto:lina at worldcantwait.net>>; chicago at worldcantwait.net<mailto:chicago at worldcantwait.net>; Jay <futureup2us at gmail.com<mailto:futureup2us at gmail.com>>; Estabrook, Carl G <galliher at illinois.edu<mailto:galliher at illinois.edu>>; Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net<mailto:Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>; David Johnson <davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net<mailto:davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net>>
Subject: RE: Vikram David Amar - Remaining Faithful to Free Speech and Academic Freedom - Jun 15, 2017
And during the Five Year Tenure of Torture-Mongerers/CIA/Mossad/MichaelMoore/Dean HurricaneHeidiHurd, they brought onto this Faculty people as Evil as they are. Fab.
Francis A. Boyle
Law Building
504 E. Pennsylvania Ave.
Champaign, IL 61820 USA
217-333-7954 (phone)
217-244-1478 (fax)
(personal comments only)
From: Boyle, Francis A
Sent: Friday, June 16, 2017 9:08 AM
To: Karen Aram <karenaram at hotmail.com<mailto:karenaram at hotmail.com>>
Cc: David Green <davegreen84 at yahoo.com<mailto:davegreen84 at yahoo.com>>; sherwoodross10 at gmail.com<mailto:sherwoodross10 at gmail.com>; peace-discuss at anti-war.net<mailto:peace-discuss at anti-war.net>; C. G. ESTABROOK <carl at newsfromneptune.com<mailto:carl at newsfromneptune.com>>; a-fields at uiuc.edu<mailto:a-fields at uiuc.edu>; Hoffman, Valerie J <vhoffman at illinois.edu<mailto:vhoffman at illinois.edu>>; Joe Lauria <joelauria at gmail.com<mailto:joelauria at gmail.com>>; Miller, Joseph Thomas <jtmiller at illinois.edu<mailto:jtmiller at illinois.edu>>; Szoke, Ron <r-szoke at illinois.edu<mailto:r-szoke at illinois.edu>>; Arlene Hickory <a23h23 at yahoo.com<mailto:a23h23 at yahoo.com>>; David Swanson <davidcnswanson at gmail.com<mailto:davidcnswanson at gmail.com>>; peace-discuss-request at lists.chambana.net<mailto:peace-discuss-request at lists.chambana.net>; abass10 at gmail.com<mailto:abass10 at gmail.com>; mickalideh at gmail.com<mailto:mickalideh at gmail.com>; Lina Thorne <lina at worldcantwait.net<mailto:lina at worldcantwait.net>>; chicago at worldcantwait.net<mailto:chicago at worldcantwait.net>; Jay <futureup2us at gmail.com<mailto:futureup2us at gmail.com>>; Estabrook, Carl G <galliher at illinois.edu<mailto:galliher at illinois.edu>>; Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net<mailto:Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>; David Johnson <davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net<mailto:davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net>>
Subject: RE: Vikram David Amar - Remaining Faithful to Free Speech and Academic Freedom - Jun 15, 2017
If you want to read all about the Criminal Dirty Work performed by Harvard Law Obama’s Harvard/Yale Law Mafia including Killary and Killer Koh you should see Charlie Savage: Power Wars (770 pages)—the Nazis had their Lawyers and their Law Professors and their Law Schools too. Fab.
Francis A. Boyle
Law Building
504 E. Pennsylvania Ave.
Champaign, IL 61820 USA
217-333-7954 (phone)
217-244-1478 (fax)
(personal comments only)
From: Boyle, Francis A
Sent: Thursday, June 15, 2017 7:33 PM
To: Karen Aram <karenaram at hotmail.com<mailto:karenaram at hotmail.com>>
Cc: David Green <davegreen84 at yahoo.com<mailto:davegreen84 at yahoo.com>>; sherwoodross10 at gmail.com<mailto:sherwoodross10 at gmail.com>; peace-discuss at anti-war.net<mailto:peace-discuss at anti-war.net>; C. G. ESTABROOK <carl at newsfromneptune.com<mailto:carl at newsfromneptune.com>>; a-fields at uiuc.edu<mailto:a-fields at uiuc.edu>; Hoffman, Valerie J <vhoffman at illinois.edu<mailto:vhoffman at illinois.edu>>; Joe Lauria <joelauria at gmail.com<mailto:joelauria at gmail.com>>; Miller, Joseph Thomas <jtmiller at illinois.edu<mailto:jtmiller at illinois.edu>>; Szoke, Ron <r-szoke at illinois.edu<mailto:r-szoke at illinois.edu>>; Arlene Hickory <a23h23 at yahoo.com<mailto:a23h23 at yahoo.com>>; David Swanson <davidcnswanson at gmail.com<mailto:davidcnswanson at gmail.com>>; peace-discuss-request at lists.chambana.net<mailto:peace-discuss-request at lists.chambana.net>; abass10 at gmail.com<mailto:abass10 at gmail.com>; mickalideh at gmail.com<mailto:mickalideh at gmail.com>; Lina Thorne <lina at worldcantwait.net<mailto:lina at worldcantwait.net>>; chicago at worldcantwait.net<mailto:chicago at worldcantwait.net>; Jay <futureup2us at gmail.com<mailto:futureup2us at gmail.com>>; Estabrook, Carl G <galliher at illinois.edu<mailto:galliher at illinois.edu>>; Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net<mailto:Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>; David Johnson <davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net<mailto:davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net>>
Subject: RE: Vikram David Amar - Remaining Faithful to Free Speech and Academic Freedom - Jun 15, 2017
I was astonished over a year ago, before I’d ever heard of “Killer Koh,” to attend a lecture on “The legitimacy of targeted killing” in relation to our drone warfare, at the U of I Law School. It was clearly a charade to present drones as legitimate in spite of International law and US laws of due process.
Yeah, if I remember correctly, I think that might have been the Dirty Work of Fired and Disgraced Dean Heidi Hurd’s Consort Michael Moore, who bragged that he works for the CIA and the Mossad-- and both of whom have stunk up this Campus and this Community for years by publicly advocating Torture. Moore also publicly congratulated everyone for bringing in Killer Koh after I had done everything humanly possible to stop them. As I said, this Law School is EVIL INCARNATE!
Fab
Francis A. Boyle
Law Building
504 E. Pennsylvania Ave.
Champaign IL 61820 USA
217-333-7954 (phone)
217-244-1478 (fax)
(personal comments only)
From: Karen Aram [mailto:karenaram at hotmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, June 15, 2017 7:22 PM
To: Boyle, Francis A <fboyle at illinois.edu<mailto:fboyle at illinois.edu>>
Cc: David Green <davegreen84 at yahoo.com<mailto:davegreen84 at yahoo.com>>; sherwoodross10 at gmail.com<mailto:sherwoodross10 at gmail.com>; peace-discuss at anti-war.net<mailto:peace-discuss at anti-war.net>; C. G. ESTABROOK <carl at newsfromneptune.com<mailto:carl at newsfromneptune.com>>; a-fields at uiuc.edu<mailto:a-fields at uiuc.edu>; Hoffman, Valerie J <vhoffman at illinois.edu<mailto:vhoffman at illinois.edu>>; Joe Lauria <joelauria at gmail.com<mailto:joelauria at gmail.com>>; Miller, Joseph Thomas <jtmiller at illinois.edu<mailto:jtmiller at illinois.edu>>; Szoke, Ron <r-szoke at illinois.edu<mailto:r-szoke at illinois.edu>>; Arlene Hickory <a23h23 at yahoo.com<mailto:a23h23 at yahoo.com>>; David Swanson <davidcnswanson at gmail.com<mailto:davidcnswanson at gmail.com>>; peace-discuss-request at lists.chambana.net<mailto:peace-discuss-request at lists.chambana.net>; abass10 at gmail.com<mailto:abass10 at gmail.com>; mickalideh at gmail.com<mailto:mickalideh at gmail.com>; Lina Thorne <lina at worldcantwait.net<mailto:lina at worldcantwait.net>>; chicago at worldcantwait.net<mailto:chicago at worldcantwait.net>; Jay <futureup2us at gmail.com<mailto:futureup2us at gmail.com>>; Estabrook, Carl G <galliher at illinois.edu<mailto:galliher at illinois.edu>>; Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net<mailto:Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>; David Johnson <davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net<mailto:davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net>>
Subject: Re: Vikram David Amar - Remaining Faithful to Free Speech and Academic Freedom - Jun 15, 2017
It does make sense that the law schools connected with Yale and Harvard would be “evil” given law schools are the first academic institution that the oligarchs controlling our government, would by necessity need to corrupt, in order to control the masses.
I was astonished over a year ago, before I’d ever heard of “Killer Koh,” to attend a lecture on “The legitimacy of targeted killing” in relation to our drone warfare, at the U of I Law School. It was clearly a charade to present drones as legitimate in spite of International law and US laws of due process.
Again, I had almost a year later, the frustration of attending a lecture by Dean Amar’s brother, a constitutional law professor from Yale, on “Freedom of Speech”, The lecture had nothing to do with freedom of speech, it was a promotion of his book and Hillary as well as local Democrats, along with an attempt to portray Obama in a good light.
Then “killer Koh” Hillary’s advisor on drone warfare, being brought to the U of I as a representative of the “law” and speaking on human rights, to law students?
Sometimes, too much is too much for sensible minds.
On Jun 15, 2017, at 17:06, Boyle, Francis A <fboyle at illinois.edu<mailto:fboyle at illinois.edu>> wrote:
Well at least we all stood up against this Evil Law School on October 28. But from what Amar is saying here, I am sure we will have to do so again. So stay tuned.
Fab.
Francis A. Boyle
Law Building
504 E. Pennsylvania Ave.
Champaign IL 61820 USA
217-333-7954 (phone)
217-244-1478 (fax)
(personal comments only)
From: Karen Aram [mailto:karenaram at hotmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, June 15, 2017 5:13 PM
To: Boyle, Francis A <fboyle at illinois.edu<mailto:fboyle at illinois.edu>>
Cc: David Green <davegreen84 at yahoo.com<mailto:davegreen84 at yahoo.com>>; sherwoodross10 at gmail.com<mailto:sherwoodross10 at gmail.com>; peace-discuss at anti-war.net<mailto:peace-discuss at anti-war.net>; C. G. ESTABROOK <carl at newsfromneptune.com<mailto:carl at newsfromneptune.com>>; a-fields at uiuc.edu<mailto:a-fields at uiuc.edu>; Hoffman, Valerie J <vhoffman at illinois.edu<mailto:vhoffman at illinois.edu>>; Joe Lauria <joelauria at gmail.com<mailto:joelauria at gmail.com>>; Miller, Joseph Thomas <jtmiller at illinois.edu<mailto:jtmiller at illinois.edu>>; Szoke, Ron <r-szoke at illinois.edu<mailto:r-szoke at illinois.edu>>; Arlene Hickory <a23h23 at yahoo.com<mailto:a23h23 at yahoo.com>>; David Swanson <davidcnswanson at gmail.com<mailto:davidcnswanson at gmail.com>>; peace-discuss-request at lists.chambana.net<mailto:peace-discuss-request at lists.chambana.net>; abass10 at gmail.com<mailto:abass10 at gmail.com>; mickalideh at gmail.com<mailto:mickalideh at gmail.com>; Lina Thorne <lina at worldcantwait.net<mailto:lina at worldcantwait.net>>; chicago at worldcantwait.net<mailto:chicago at worldcantwait.net>; Jay <futureup2us at gmail.com<mailto:futureup2us at gmail.com>>; Estabrook, Carl G <galliher at illinois.edu<mailto:galliher at illinois.edu>>; Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net<mailto:Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>; David Johnson <davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net<mailto:davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net>>
Subject: Re: Vikram David Amar - Remaining Faithful to Free Speech and Academic Freedom - Jun 15, 2017
Our government is evil, and if we the people don’t stop them from the wars and killings, then we are complicit in their warcrimes.
On Jun 15, 2017, at 15:07, Boyle, Francis A <fboyle at illinois.edu<mailto:fboyle at illinois.edu>> wrote:
This Law School is EVIL!
Fab
Francis A. Boyle
Law Building
504 E. Pennsylvania Ave.
Champaign, IL 61820 USA
217-333-7954 (phone)
217-244-1478 (fax)
(personal comments only)
From: Boyle, Francis A
Sent: Thursday, June 15, 2017 10:38 AM
To: David Green <davegreen84 at yahoo.com<mailto:davegreen84 at yahoo.com>>; sherwoodross10 at gmail.com<mailto:sherwoodross10 at gmail.com>; peace-discuss at anti-war.net<mailto:peace-discuss at anti-war.net>; C. G. ESTABROOK <carl at newsfromneptune.com<mailto:carl at newsfromneptune.com>>; a-fields at uiuc.edu<mailto:a-fields at uiuc.edu>; Hoffman, Valerie J <vhoffman at illinois.edu<mailto:vhoffman at illinois.edu>>; Joe Lauria <joelauria at gmail.com<mailto:joelauria at gmail.com>>; Miller, Joseph Thomas <jtmiller at illinois.edu<mailto:jtmiller at illinois.edu>>; Szoke, Ron <r-szoke at illinois.edu<mailto:r-szoke at illinois.edu>>; Arlene Hickory <a23h23 at yahoo.com<mailto:a23h23 at yahoo.com>>; David Swanson <davidcnswanson at gmail.com<mailto:davidcnswanson at gmail.com>>; Karen Aram <karenaram at hotmail.com<mailto:karenaram at hotmail.com>>; peace-discuss-request at lists.chambana.net<mailto:peace-discuss-request at lists.chambana.net>; abass10 at gmail.com<mailto:abass10 at gmail.com>; mickalideh at gmail.com<mailto:mickalideh at gmail.com>; Lina Thorne <lina at worldcantwait.net<mailto:lina at worldcantwait.net>>; chicago at worldcantwait.net<mailto:chicago at worldcantwait.net>; Jay <futureup2us at gmail.com<mailto:futureup2us at gmail.com>>; Estabrook, Carl G <galliher at illinois.edu<mailto:galliher at illinois.edu>>; Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net<mailto:Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>; David Johnson <davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net<mailto:davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net>>
Subject: FW: Vikram David Amar - Remaining Faithful to Free Speech and Academic Freedom - Jun 15, 2017
Sure. Let’s bring the War Criminal, Murderer, Felon, Bigot, Racist and Genocidaire Killer Koh into our Law School on October 28, 2016, hold him up as a Role Model to our Law Students, and then turn our Law Students into War Criminals, Murderers, Felons, Bigots, Racists and Genocidaires just like Killer Koh. Fab.
Diss-Ode to Harold Killer Koh1<x-msg://20/#_ftn1>
Harold Killer Koh
Killing Babies where he go
Muslim life is cheap you see
Jewish life too for the Nazi
Carl Schmitt Professor of Law
At the Yale Law School
Boot-licking Gene Rostow
Of the infamous Rostow Brothers
Who gave us Vietnam
Genociding “gooks” too
Obama’s War Consigliere
Gene and his “kids” for LBJ
Some things never change for Dems
And their Elite Law School Whores Today
At Harvard Law School too
Where Killers Obama and Koh
First dropped their pooh
Along with “Judge” Davey Barron too
Obama’s Droner-in-Chief
Destined for a Cell in The Hague
Right next to his student John Yoo
A Chip off of Harold’s Old Block
Cold-blooded Killers and War Criminals too
Killer Koh disteaching “human rights” at N.Y.U.
Supported by his gang of Dem law prof thugs
Beating up on the N.Y.U. law students few
With the courage, integrity, and principles to say
Never again!
Francis A. Boyle
Law Building
504 E. Pennsylvania Ave.
Champaign, IL 61820 USA
217-333-7954 (phone)
217-244-1478 (fax)
(personal comments only)
From: Justia Verdict [mailto:verdictsupport at justia.com]
Sent: Thursday, June 15, 2017 10:09 AM
To: Boyle, Francis A <fboyle at illinois.edu<mailto:fboyle at illinois.edu>>
Subject: Vikram David Amar - Remaining Faithful to Free Speech and Academic Freedom - Jun 15, 2017
Illinois Law dean and professor Vikram David Amar laments recent instances of censored speech, particularly on university campuses, and reminds us that freedom of speech and academic freedom protect even those speakers whose message might be perceived odious, racist, sexist, or hateful. Amar points out that both freedom of speech and academic freedom are rooted in the principle that ideas and arguments ought to be evaluated on their substance and that the essence of both kinds of freedom is the opportunity to persuade others of the merits of one's argument, rather than the use of power to coerce or silence others.
Click here to view in your browser if you are having trouble viewing this email.<http://justia.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e710e723d8bd2cdd38fe8f5ac&id=6bd22d1049&e=1b0e405e24>
[Verdict - Legal Analysis and commentary from Justia.]<http://justia.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e710e723d8bd2cdd38fe8f5ac&id=4eb3595aa5&e=1b0e405e24>
Remaining Faithful to Free Speech and Academic Freedom<http://justia.us1.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=e710e723d8bd2cdd38fe8f5ac&id=a1b76063de&e=1b0e405e24>
Vikram David Amar
Jun 15, 2017
[https://i2.wp.com/verdict.justia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/IMG_0590.jpg?quality=90&resize=426%2C350&strip=all&fit=1000%25&ssl=1]<http://justia.us1.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=e710e723d8bd2cdd38fe8f5ac&id=c3c672ad72&e=1b0e405e24>
It distresses me to see episodes these days in which speakers who are controversial for their conservative or ultra-conservative views are prevented from delivering invited remarks at universities (including public universities) because protestors choose to violate laws designed to protect public safety. It also distresses me to see so few liberal analysts decry how illiberal these episodes of group-imposed censorship are.
As I have written at length elsewhere, no matter how repressive or otherwise abhorrent a speaker’s message, the appropriate response under our Constitution is counter speech, not shouting down or physically obstructing or threatening the speaker or the speaker’s audience. To be sure, protesting a speaker’s presence—registering profound objection to a speaker’s viewpoint—is perfectly appropriate and has a rich tradition dating from even before the 1960s free speech revolution through the Occupy movement. But what we have seen over the past several months is a transition from protesting against bad speakers to preventing them from being able to speak, and that is not acceptable.
An unflinching commitment to freedom of speech—even odious, racist, sexist, hateful speech—is the cornerstone of constitutional democracy in the United States. Certainly we protect freedom of speech more vigorously than any other western democracy. We also have a venerable tradition of respecting academic freedom at colleges and universities.
These two principles, freedom of speech and academic freedom, overlap and are interconnected, even as they are distinct ideas. Freedom of speech is a broadly applicable right codified in the federal First Amendment and state constitutional analogues that protects speakers both on and off public campuses from unwarranted government interference with expression. Academic freedom, which may extend beyond what the Constitution<http://justia.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e710e723d8bd2cdd38fe8f5ac&id=f24490ffa8&e=1b0e405e24>protects, is grounded on the idea that, at least in the academy, free inquiry unburdened by the constraints of orthodoxy will lead to the development of new ideas and knowledge.
Notwithstanding their different scopes, both freedom of speech and academic freedom rest on the bedrock belief that ideas and arguments ought to be evaluated on their substance. The essence of both kinds of freedom is the opportunity to persuade others of the merits of one’s argument, rather than the use of power to coerce others into acceding to the proponent’s point of view.
Sometimes the heat and passion of political protests on college campuses causes these basic principles to be overlooked or ignored. When that happens, it is important for us to go back to what freedom of speech and academic freedom really mean and how easily both of these principles can be misused and misinterpreted.
Governments Can and Should Prohibit Certain Obstructive Conduct
The short of the matter is that blockading, obstructing, assaulting, destroying property, and making threats, are not, in any stretch of the imagination, constitutionally protected things to do, no matter what the objective behind them. These activities are conduct the government has always had the legitimate authority to proscribe because they so obviously interfere with the liberty and lawful pursuits of others.
As the Supreme Court of California stated in an important free speech case,In Re Kay<http://justia.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e710e723d8bd2cdd38fe8f5ac&id=9aa65946f7&e=1b0e405e24>:
[T]he state retains a legitimate concern in ensuring that some individuals unruly assertion of their rights of free expression does not imperil other citizen’s rights of free association and discussion. … Freedom of everyone to talk at once can destroy the right of anyone effectively to talk at all. Free expression can expire as tragically in the tumult of license as in the silence of censorship.
Government actions to prohibit blockades or obstruction have been held to be permissible under the First Amendment<http://justia.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e710e723d8bd2cdd38fe8f5ac&id=f56ba325a8&e=1b0e405e24> too many times to count. To cite just one example, a federal law, the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act<http://justia.us1.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=e710e723d8bd2cdd38fe8f5ac&id=adf31c83f4&e=1b0e405e24> (FACE), that prohibits anyone from physically obstructing any person from obtaining or providing reproductive health services, has been upheld repeatedly against constitutional challenge, and those cases raise harder questions than do generic obstruction laws because FACE targets specific places where protestors with particular messages may be expected.
Blockades and obstructions can and should be prohibited consistent with the First Amendment primarily because they are not intended to and do not persuade anyone of the merits of the protestors’ position. They are employed to coerce third parties to change their behavior, not their minds. As such, they are actually antithetical to, rather than in furtherance of, the values on which freedom of speech and academic freedom are grounded — a commitment to the power of ideas rather than the use of force to change the way that people act.
Creative But Unavailing Counterarguments
In recent weeks, I have heard defenders of those who obstruct conservative speakers make two novel but completely unconvincing arguments. First, the obstruction defenders try to invoke the civil rights movement by pointing out that Martin Luther King, Jr. and his supporters were often guilty of civil disobedience—that is violating duly enacted laws. But this analogy is unavailing because King and his followers were violating laws that were (in the eyes of the protestors and many others) themselves unjust, not laws that were completely unobjectionable but simply stood in the way of the desires of the violators. Another distinction between the two settings is that to the extent that civil rights protestors violated laws regulating their political activity, they were violating laws in order to be heard themselves, not in order to prevent others from being heard. But today’s obstructors cannot credibly complain that they cannot be heard; they simply want others not to be listened to.
The second creative yet deeply flawed argument I’ve heard in defense of the obstructors is the idea that controversial speakers of the kind who are being suppressed are themselves not appropriate speakers to be invited to university settings because they are not sufficiently academic in character. Putting aside the fact that these speakers were invited (whether they ought to have been or not), and putting aside whether some of these speakers do have some academic bona fides (even if their ideas are often very wrong-headed), this argument mischaracterizes the kind of speakers who belong at universities. Higher education is a place not just to sharpen one’s critical thinking skills through exposure to brilliant academics who make data-informed arguments in multiple directions; it is also a place where one should learn how to become a full citizen in American society. As the Supreme Court observed in the context of high school students in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District<http://justia.us1.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=e710e723d8bd2cdd38fe8f5ac&id=42b1f289e0&e=1b0e405e24>, this often means that students need to engage each other on the contentious political issues of the day. And in today’s college world this sometimes means hearing and evaluating strident political advocates, some of whom even border on demagoguery.
To be sure, student and faculty organizations should give some thought (perhaps more thought than they currently do) to the question of whom they invite to speak on campus—certainly not everyone should be offered a platform—but many campus speakers, on the Left as well as the Right, are not particularly grounded in rigorous theoretical or empirical analysis, and this does not mean that they are per se inappropriate speakers for college audiences. Again, colleges should be preparing young people not just to navigate the economy, but also to navigate democracy. And, for better or worse, modern democracy means having to deal with a lot of ideas that are widely held even though they don’t hold up to analytic rigor. Debunking those ideas—not shouting them down or trying to suppress their expression—is what I want my students to learn how to do.
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Vikram David Amar is the Iwan Foundation Professor of Law and the Dean at the University of Illinois College of Law. Previously, he served as the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Law at the University of California, Davis School of Law. He is a 1988 graduate of the Yale Law School and a former clerk to Justice Harry Blackmun. He is a co-author, along with William Cohen and Jonathan Varat, of a major constitutional law casebook, and a co-author of several volumes of the Wright & Miller treatise on federal practice and procedure. Before teaching, Professor Amar spent a few years at the firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.
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1<x-msg://20/#_ftnref1> Behind me at Harvard Law School, Killer Koh was President Obama’s War Consigliere and Droner-in-Chief.
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