"Miami-Dade Transit to Remove 'Offensive' [Anti-Islam] Bus Ads"

[Volokh, Eugene]

	I would think that the bus ad couldn't be incitement as such:  It's not intended to promote lawless action, and it's certainly not intended to promote *imminent* lawless action.  At most there might be reason to think that the ad may lead to such action at some unspecified time in the future, and that the advertisers might be aware of this risk -- but that's not enough for incitement.

	The question, I take it, is whether a rule that excludes speech from a nonpublic forum when the speech seems likely to lead to criminal attacks by those who disapprove of the speech is suitably viewpoint-neutral -- which is to say whether speech could be restricted on a "heckler's veto" theory in nonpublic fora even though it can't be in traditional public fora or (by the government) on private property.  I'm not sure there's a clear answer to that.

	I should also note that if this ad is seen as "hate speech," then that just reminds us about how vague and broad that term can be.  (But it may well be that the post below simply notes that some anti-religious speech is often labeled "hate speech," rather than taking the view that this post is itself "hate speech.")

	Eugene


> -----Original Message-----
> From: lgilbert at stu.edu [mailto:lgilbert at stu.edu]
> Sent: Monday, April 19, 2010 1:42 PM
> To: Daniel Hoffman; conlawprof-bounces at lists.ucla.edu; 'CONLAWPROFS
> professors'; Volokh, Eugene
> Subject: Re: "Miami-Dade Transit to Remove 'Offensive' [Anti-Islam] Bus Ads"
> 
> Along that same line, what if an extremist Muslim group threatened to take
> "extreme action" against any bus with the offensive ads?  Could the city then
> remove them under the incitement doctrine, in light of similar responses against
> offensive speech in other parts of the world?  What if the city just anticipates such
> a response but hasn't actually been threatened?   Could the Dennis risk formula be
> resurrected?
> Lauren Gilbert
> Professor of Law
> St. Thomas University
> Miami Gardens, FL
> 
> P.S.  This is great stuff.  We just did hate speech last Thursday and start public
> forum analysis tomorrow!  What a great segueway.
> Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Daniel Hoffman <guayiya at bellsouth.net>
> Date: Mon, 19 Apr 2010 13:16:45
> To: 'CONLAWPROFS professors'<CONLAWPROF at lists.ucla.edu>;
> EugeneVolokh<VOLOKH at law.ucla.edu>
> Subject: Re: "Miami-Dade Transit to Remove 'Offensive' [Anti-Islam] Bus Ads"
> 
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