Hate Speech Is Not Free

This book argues that hate speech is not protected. Based on an examination of Supreme Court case law and First Amendment theory, the book finds that hate speech lies outside the Supreme Court’s hierarchy of speech protection because it advances no ideas of social value.

Wat Hopkins is Emeritus Professor of Communication at Virginia Tech, USA. He taught communication law and cyberspace law. He has written widely on issues related to freedom of expression and is former editor of the journal Communication Law and Policy. He has received the Distinguished Service Award from the Law and Policy Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication and the AEJMC Dorothy Bowles Award for Public Service.

Preface 1. Hate Speech and the "No Law" Conundrum 2. The Scope of Hate Speech 3. Speech Protection from Chaplinsky to Alvarez 4. Professor Meiklejohn, Justice Brennan and Absolute First Amendment Protection 5. The Idea of Hate Speech 6. The Idea of Hate Speech Redux Bibliography Case Index Subject Index About the Author