Speech That May Cause Illegal Conduct

Date

Apr 30, 2024, 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm

Aaron Burr Hall 219

Speaker

Eugene Volokh

Thomas M. Siebel Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University (effective May 11, 2024); Gary T. Schwartz Distinguished Professor of Law, University of California Los Angeles (Emeritus effective July 1, 2024)

Details

Speech That May Cause Illegal Conduct - event poster

Speech can often foreseeably lead to illegal conduct. That is especially so for speech broadcast to a vast audience; 99.99% of the listeners may react to it peacefully, but .01% may react criminally, whether with criminal threats, vandalism, or even violence. What should the law do about this sort of speech, whether the speech is political advocacy, personal criticism, or even just entertainment?

Eugene Volokh has taught and written about First Amendment law for 30 years, and has also focused on law and technology, Second Amendment law, tort law, and criminal law. He is the author of a First Amendment textbook, a book on academic legal writing, and over 100 law journal articles. Before he went into law teaching, he clerked for Ninth Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski and for Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Before that, he spent 12 years as a computer programmer.

This event is supported by the Bouton Law Lecture Fund.

Contributions to and/or sponsorship of any event does not constitute departmental or institutional endorsement of the specific program, speakers or views presented.

Sponsor

James Madison Program's Initiative on Freedom of Thought, Inquiry and Expression