The Public Defender’s Pin: Untangling Free Speech Regulation in the Courtroom

11 Pages Posted: 10 Mar 2017 Last revised: 22 Nov 2017

See all articles by Michael Kagan

Michael Kagan

University of Nevada, Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law

Date Written: March 9, 2017

Abstract

In this essay, Professor Kagan asserts that recent disputes in Ohio and Nevada about whether lawyers should be allowed to wear “Black Lives Matter” pins in open court expose a fault line in First Amendment law. Lower courts have generally been unsympathetic to lawyers who display political symbols in court. But, Kagan argues, it would go too far suggest that free speech has no relevance in courtrooms. This essay argues for a way to strike a balance.

Keywords: Free Speech, Courts, Race, First Amendment, Criminal Justice

Suggested Citation

Kagan, Michael, The Public Defender’s Pin: Untangling Free Speech Regulation in the Courtroom (March 9, 2017). Northwestern University Law Review, Forthcoming, UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2930373

Michael Kagan (Contact Author)

University of Nevada, Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law ( email )

4505 South Maryland Parkway
Box 451003
Las Vegas, NV 89154
United States

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