Associate Dean Amar Publishes Op-ed in NY Times.com
Associate Dean Vikram Amar has published an op-ed in the New York Times on First Amendment issues raised by the upcoming Supreme Court case Snyder v. Phelps. The case involves the pastor and members of the Westbro Baptist Church, who have picketed the funerals of deceased American soldiers holding signs expressing anti-homosexual, anti-American, and anti-Catholic sentiments. The father of one deceased marine sued the church after members picketed his son's funeral and won a $10.9 million judgment, but the decision was overturned by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and has been appealed to the Supreme Court.
In "Drawing Lines Against Harassment," which appears in "Room for Debate," a feature of the New York Times website, Associate Dean Amar suggests that there may be two factors that would allow the Court to regulate speech in public places in circumstances such as those present in Snyder: the special vulnerability of people attending a funeral and the harassing character of the protestor's actions.
Associate Dean Amar also discussed the new Supreme Court term on the KQED Public Radio Forum with Michael Krasny for a program that aired October 4.
Vikram Amar, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of Law with the UC Davis School of Law, is a national authority in the fields of constitutional law, civil procedure, criminal procedure, and remedies. His biweekly column for FindLaw.com, a leading provider of online legal information, centers on his expertise in constitutional law.
New York Times Room for Debate: "Drawing Lines Against Harassment"
