Seeing the No-Compelled-Speech Doctrine Clearly Through the Lens of Telescope Media
25 Pages Posted: 7 Feb 2020
Date Written: January 21, 2020
Abstract
The purpose of this Article is to take a close look at what has become the leading case on the right of expressive wedding vendors to resist speech compulsions, the Eighth Circuit’s decision in Telescope Media Group v. Lucero. First, I will briefly describe the Court’s longstanding doctrine protecting persons against compelled speech requirements. I will then take a careful look at the holding and reasoning of Telescope Media. Finally, I will suggest that Judge Stras’s majority opinion in Telescope Media is very persuasive and that the arguments against applying the no-compelled-speech doctrine to commercial wedding vendors are not persuasive.
Keywords: free speech, compelled speech, religious liberty, First Amendment, wedding vendors, Judge Stras
JEL Classification: K19, K30, K42
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation