Trump attacks on Twitter betray free speech principles

Trump attacks on Twitter betray free speech principles

After President Donald Trump made unsubstantiated claims on Twitter about mail-in voting and Twitter responded by attaching a link to his tweets, Trump threatened to close down the social media giant. “The president appears to have no understanding of or concern for free speech,” says a constitutional law expert at Washington University in St. Louis.
Making the case for a ‘Defender General’

Making the case for a ‘Defender General’

The United States needs a “Defender General” — a public official charged with representing the collective interests of criminal defendants before the Supreme Court of the United States, argues a new article co-authored by Daniel Epps, professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis School of Law.

Law and policy spring lecture series begins Jan. 17

The spring session of the Public Interest Law & Policy Speakers Series kicks off at 3 p.m. Friday, Jan. 17, in Anheuser-Busch Hall, with a chat with constitutional experts Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the School of Law at University of California, Berkeley, and Lyrissa Lidsky, dean of the University of Missouri School of Law, discussing the future of free speech.
WashU Expert: Soleimani killing likely unlawful

WashU Expert: Soleimani killing likely unlawful

Many questions remain following the Jan. 3 death of Qassem Soleimani and Iran’s potential retaliation. Chief among them: Was the strike legal? “Unless there is much more to the story than meets the eye, the answer seems to be no,” said Leila Sadat, director of the Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute and an expert on international criminal law.
The time for privacy reform is now

The time for privacy reform is now

America needs an internet privacy bill but Congressional inaction could force states into adopting an Americanized version of Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation. That’s a move that would be insufficient and ineffective, argues a leading privacy law expert at Washington University in St. Louis.
Toward a more civil discourse

Toward a more civil discourse

Reappropriation — by which a group of people reclaims words or artifacts that were previously used in a way disparaging of that group — can tame uncivil discourse, finds a new study by political scientists and a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis.
WashU Expert: Freedom of speech, the NBA and China

WashU Expert: Freedom of speech, the NBA and China

Under principles of free speech, anyone — such as Chinese state television — is entitled to hold their view of anything, including the scope of freedom of speech, says Gregory Magarian, as Constitutional law expert at Washington University in St. Louis School of Law.
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