Photo of Brandi Levy in high school, wearing a Mahoney High School cheerleading uniform and holding gold pom poms. in front of the supreme court

Mahoney v. Levy: the Evolution of Students’ First Amendment Rights

On Wednesday, June 23, 2021, the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 in favor of Brandi Levy and public school students’ speech rights, in the case Mahoney School Board v. Brandi Levy. In 2017, Levy, then a 14 year old high school student in Pennsylvania, tried out for her school’s varsity cheering squad. After not making the team, she vented her frustrations in a Snapchat video, where she flipped off the camera and dropped a few swearwords. The school, after seeing the video, subsequently suspended her from the junior varsity cheer squad, saying that her video and its message violated the cheerleading code of conduct. After failing to come to a resolution with the school, Levy and her parents sued, arguing that punishing her for off campus speech violated Levy’s First Amendment rights.

Social media apps on a smart phone

US Eyes TikTok Ban While Books are Pulled From Hong Kong Libraries

A ban seems a bit like using a meat cleaver where a scalpel might be more appropriate. I’m also troubled by the potential message a TikTok ban sends; we want to encourage China to be more protective of and open to free speech, especially in light of the troubling shift toward censorship in Hong Kong. Can we really do that if we are banning their apps? By banning their apps, are we taking steps in that same direction?

Protesters in silhouette

When can the government prevent me from assembling, anyway?

Ultimately, while there may be arguments about the wisdom of these stay-at-home orders, and perhaps other constitutional arguments to be made, I don’t think the argument that they violate the right to assembly or the right to religion is particularly persuasive. Let’s cross our fingers that these social distancing measures work, and we can all go back to “normal” soon, making this debate a distant memory.

This album cover is attributed to the Li’l Joe Records re-release and to Virgin Megastores.

From Lawyers to Language Practices: Two Hip-Hop Professors and the Living Legacy of 2 Live Crew

In recognition of Fair Use / Fair Dealing Week, professors of hip hop A. D. Carson and Justin De Senso share insights on the place of fair use in teaching and learning, what happens when you invite lawyers to class, creating historiography-by-discography, what it’s like to send a scholarly album out for peer review, and rap ensemble 2 Live Crew’s contributions to fair use, free expression, and hip hop history.