Warning

Info

Warning

Info

Warning

Info

LSDefine

Simple English definitions for legal terms

government speech

Read a random definition: tentative agenda

A quick definition of government speech:

The government speech doctrine is a rule that says the government can say what it wants without being limited by the First Amendment's Free Speech Clause. This means that the government can express its own opinions without having to be neutral. However, the government still has to follow other parts of the Constitution, like the Establishment Clause. It's not always clear when the government is speaking for itself or trying to restrict other people's speech.

A more thorough explanation:

The government speech doctrine is a legal principle that says the government can express its own opinions without being limited by the First Amendment's Free Speech Clause. This means that the government can say what it wants without having to be neutral or fair to other people's opinions.

For example, in Rust v. Sullivan, the Supreme Court decided that the government could fund family-planning programs and prevent healthcare providers in the program from answering pregnant women's questions about abortion. This is because the government was expressing its own opinion about abortion, and it did not have to be neutral or fair to other opinions.

However, in Legal Services Corp. v. Velazquez, the Supreme Court decided that the government could not prevent lawyers in a program supporting legal representation for indigent parties from helping those parties challenge or amend welfare laws. This is because the government was not expressing its own opinion about welfare laws, but rather providing a service to help people access legal representation.

It is not always clear when the government is expressing its own opinion or restricting others' speech. The government cannot ignore other parts of the Constitution, such as the Establishment Clause, which prohibits the government from promoting or favoring one religion over others.

government fraud | governmental immunity

Warning

Info

General

General chat about the legal profession.
main_chatroom
👍 Chat vibe: 0 👎
Help us make LSD better!
Tell us what's important to you
MIAMI A
[] AromaticTroubledDormouse
20:55
How does one know if they are UR1 or UR2?
[] AromaticTroubledDormouse
20:56
CONGRATS MACAQUE!
TY
got a random stanford email and almost had a heart attack
ALSO CONGRATS!
Congrats1!
21:15
Miami A, yall I'm so excited I could cry.
21:15
Feel like I can finally stop holding my breath!! Whew!!!
[] baddestbunny
22:16
every time I get accosted by a strange man who follows me around because my male coworkers were too busy talking to walk me back to my car I get closer to saying we need to bring back traditional gender roles
Dkk
22:32
Nice! @Macaque
Dkk
22:32
@Aromatic, Have to guess.
Dkk
22:33
That sucks @Bunny do you have to go to the hospital?
[] baddestbunny
22:40
I said accosted not assaulted
23:35
guys. my notre dame address just went long is this good or bad
1a2b3c4d26z
23:37
Oooooo me too
23:37
omg is this good or bad
Dkk
23:47
Idk if gender roles are gunna fix that then.
23:49
it looks like most people who applied in october last cycle didn't get a decision until january... does it even mean anything that our addresses went long??
hows ED 2 compared to ED 1?
Dkk
0:10
No idea
windyMagician
0:34
reporting live to say my ndls address also went long
does it mean anything ^
Dkk
2:21
NDLS and Fordham took a very long time last year. It's good info for people to know.
[] baddestbunny
4:29
let’s get after it boys and girls
Dkk
5:21
I gtg to bed soon.
Dkk
5:22
Big day today. Gunna be a crazy one. I will sleep through the first half.
good morning lsd it is 5 am EST
also jazzy my ndls address went long ages ago i sadly do not think it means anything
my stanford address also went long LOL i think at most it's an indicator it's under review
LSD+ is ad-free, with DMs, discounts, case briefs & more.