‘The Disappearing First Amendment’ by Ronald Krotosznski
Ronald J. Krotosznski Jr. of the University of Alabama School of Law has published The Disappearing First Amendment.
The book challenges the prevailing wisdom, which holds that the scope of expressive freedoms has consistently expanded over time since the days of the Warren Court, and posits that in many important First Amendment areas, free speech rights have actually declined under the Roberts and Rehnquist Courts.
From the publisher:
The standard account of the First Amendment presupposes that the Supreme Court has consistently expanded the scope of free speech rights over time. This account holds true in some areas, but not in others. In this illuminating work, Ronald J. Krotoszynski, Jr. acknowledges that the contemporary Supreme Court rigorously enforces the rules against content and viewpoint discrimination for those who possess the wherewithal to speak but when citizens need the government's assistance to speak - for example, access to public property for protest - free speech rights have declined. Instead of using open-ended balancing tests, the Roberts and Rehnquist Courts have opted for bright line, categorical rules that minimize judicial discretion. Opportunities for democratic engagement could be enhanced, however, if the federal courts returned to the Warren Court's balancing approach and vested federal judges with discretionary authority to require government to assist would-be speakers. This book should be read by anyone concerned with free speech and its place in democratic self-government.
Read more here.
