Simple English definitions for legal terms
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Narrowly tailored means that a rule or law is only as strict as it needs to be to achieve an important goal. For example, if the government wants to limit where people can speak in public, they can only make rules that are necessary to keep people safe or prevent chaos. They can't make rules that are too strict and limit people's freedom of speech too much. This is important because everyone has the right to express their opinions, but the government also has a duty to keep people safe.
Definition: Narrowly tailored refers to a restriction on the time, place, or manner of speech in a designated public forum that is only as broad as necessary to promote a significant government interest. The restriction must be limited to time, place, or manner and cannot be broader than necessary.
Examples: A city may restrict the use of loudspeakers in a public park to certain hours of the day to prevent noise pollution. This restriction is narrowly tailored because it is limited to the time of day and does not prohibit all speech in the park. Another example is a university may limit the use of its facilities for political rallies to certain days of the week to prevent disruption of classes. This restriction is also narrowly tailored because it is limited to the place and time of the event.
Explanation: The examples illustrate how a restriction on speech can be narrowly tailored to serve a significant government interest. In both cases, the restrictions are limited to time, place, or manner and do not prohibit all speech. The restrictions are necessary to prevent disruption or noise pollution, which are significant government interests. The restrictions are not broader than necessary because they do not prohibit all speech, only certain types of speech at certain times or places.