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2016 Pepp. L. Rev. Ann. 1 (2016)

handle is hein.journals/pnelwrwan2016 and id is 1 raw text is: Elonis v. United States: Why the Supreme Court Punted on Free Speech TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... . 1 II. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ................................................................... 3 III. FACTS & PROCEDURE.......................................................................... 6 IV . A NALY SIS .......................................................................................... . 9 A. The M ajority Opinion............................................................ . 9 1. A Ruling on Statutory Grounds ....................................... 9 2. A Lack of Constitutional Analysis................................. 11 B. Justice Alito's Concurrence in Part and Dissent in Part.......... 12 C. Justice Thomas's Dissent.................................................... 13 V . IM PA CT ............................................................................................. . 13 I. INTRODUCTION Imagine you are an artist and you wake up in the morning eager to share your newest masterpiece with millions of people online. By 8:00 a.m. you have eaten, dressed, and shared your newest piece with the world. By noon, you have been handcuffed, arrested, and charged with a federal crime. The First Amendment forbids the government from interfering with the freedom of speech of all Americans,' so you can freely post, share, and create your art, or have discussions and air grievances about your life and the world around you. But how far does that guarantee go? Throughout American history, courts have struggled to balance the importance of free speech against the safety of the American people and society overall.2 When the 1. U.S. CONST. amend. I (Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech); see also Lovell v. City ofGriffin, Ga., 303 U.S. 444,450 (1938) (holding that freedom ofspeech is a fundamental right and that the First Amendment's protection extends to any state or government action). 2. See Geoffrey R. Stone, Free Speech in the Twenty-First Century: Ten Lessons from the Twentieth Century, 36 PEPP. L. REv. 273, 274-75 (2009) (noting that, historically, federal courts have wrestled with free speech and analyzing prominent free speech issues considered and decided within the twenty-first century). 1