St. Thomas Law Review
First Page
49
Document Type
Article
Abstract
The rule should be a simple one: expression of all ideas is protected, except for those in narrowly defined categories such as state secrets, obscenity, fighting words, and defamation. The last exception should include a civil action for group libel. While the rule may be simple, however, it is not simplistic - nor any more difficult to apply than the analysis required in the fact-finding process of a trial by judge or jury. This paper will briefly examine the various approaches to free speech both in America and elsewhere, suggest how they may be read in harmony with the rule stated above, and apply such reasoning to specific cases of group defamation.
Recommended Citation
Kenneth Lasson,
To Stimulate, Provoke, or Incite Hate Speech and the First Amendment,
3
St. Thomas L. Rev.
49
(1991).
Available at:
https://scholarship.stu.edu/stlr/vol3/iss1/9