Our constitutional freedom to speak out against government and corporate power is always fragile, but today it faces unprecedented hazards. In
Managed Speech: The Roberts Court's First Amendment, leading First Amendment scholar, Gregory Magarian, explores and critiques how the present U.S. Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice John Roberts, has reshaped and degraded the law of expressive freedom.
This timely book shows how the Roberts Court's free speech decisions embody a version of expressive freedom that Professor Magarian calls "managed speech". Managed speech empowers stable, responsible institutions, both government and private, to manage public discussion; disfavors First Amendment claims from social and political outsiders; and, above all, promotes social and political stability. Professor Magarian examines all of the more than forty free speech decisions the Supreme Court handed down between Chief Justice Roberts' ascent in 2005 and Justice Antonin Scalia's death in 2016. Those decisions, taken together, aggressively advance stability at a steep cost to robust public debate.
Professor Magarian proposes a theoretical alternative to managed speech, one that would aim to increase the range of ideas and voices in public discussion: "dynamic diversity." A First Amendment doctrine based on dynamic diversity would prioritize political dissent and the rights of journalists, allow for reasonable regulations of money in politics, and work to broaden opportunities for speakers to be heard. This book offers a fresh, critical perspective on the crucial question of what the First Amendment should mean and do.
Industry Reviews
"Managed Speech is a creative, original, and incisive exploration of how the Roberts Court has navigated the complex landscape of modern free speech law, comparing and contrasting rulings in such arenas as various and different as private speech, government funded speech, and speech in government preserves." --Rodney A. Smolla, Dean & Professor of Law, Delaware Law School, Widener University
"In this powerful book, Gregory Magarian explores and critiques a central element of the Roberts Court's constitutional jurisprudence: its frequent and significant engagement with the First Amendment. Contrasting the Roberts Court's 'managed speech' approach with a compelling alternative he calls 'dynamic diversity,' Magarian simultaneously explains and unsettles contemporary free speech doctrine. Managed Speech should be a standard reference for anyone seeking
to understand or evaluate the modern First Amendment." --Joseph Blocher, Professor of Law, Duke Law School
"Gregory Magarian accomplishes a rare feat by providing a valuable new framework and vocabulary for understanding the Supreme Court's recent First Amendment decisions. This volume offers a heartening glimpse of a future where speech protections embrace a diversity of voices and foster the dynamic change that is the lifeblood of a healthy, modern democracy. Powerful and deftly argued, Managed Speech is both a commentary on the current political moment
and a roadmap for reinvigorating the First Amendment." -Lee C. Bollinger, President and Seth Low Professor of the University, Columbia University
"Professor Magarian provides a terrific discussion of the freedom of speech decisions of the first decade of the John Roberts Court. This beautifully written, nuanced book shows how the Court in recent years has expanded some protections for expression, but restricted others. Professor Magarian uses his discussion of these cases to advance a new theory of freedom of speech - dynamic diversity - which could provide for more robust protection of speech in the
years ahead. The book manages to be thorough and descriptive while also being wonderfully critical and prescriptive." -Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean, Distinguished Professor of Law, and Raymond Pryke Professor
of First Amendment Law, University of California, Irvine School of Law
"In this powerful book, Gregory Magarian explores and critiques a central element of the Roberts Court's constitutional jurisprudence: its frequent and significant engagement with the First Amendment. Contrasting the Roberts Court's 'managed speech' approach with a compelling alternative he calls 'dynamic diversity,' Magarian simultaneously explains and unsettles contemporary free speech doctrine. Managed Speech should be a standard reference for
anyone seeking to understand or evaluate the modern First Amendment." -Joseph Blocher, Professor of Law, Duke Law School
"Managed Speech is a creative, original, and incisive exploration of how the Roberts Court has navigated the complex landscape of modern free speech law, comparing and contrasting rulings in such arenas as various and different as private speech, government funded speech, and speech in government preserves." -Rodney A. Smolla, Dean & Professor of Law, Delaware Law School, Widener University
