Where's the Harm?: Free Speech and the Regulation of Lies

Lidsky, Lyrissa

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Where's the Harm?: Free Speech and the Regulation of Lies

Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky

University of Florida - Levin College of Law

May 1, 2009

Washington and Lee Law Review, Vol. 65, p. 1091, 2008

Abstract:
The United States Supreme Court has interpreted the First Amendment to accord a measure of protection to outright lies. This essay seeks to explain why. Using Holocaust denial as an example of verifiably false speech, this essay poses the question of whether such speech poses a more serious danger than First Amendment jurisprudence traditionally has acknowledged. This essay also probes the unintended consequences of governmental attempts to impose criminal punishment on lies.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 11

Keywords: First Amendment, Holocaust denial, lies, opinion, verfiability, falsity

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Date posted: May 1, 2009 ; Last revised: December 4, 2012

Suggested Citation

Lidsky, Lyrissa Barnett, Where's the Harm?: Free Speech and the Regulation of Lies (May 1, 2009). Washington and Lee Law Review, Vol. 65, p. 1091, 2008. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1397611

Contact Information

Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky (Contact Author)

University of Florida - Levin College of Law ( email )

P.O. Box 117625
Gainesville, FL 32611-7625
United States
352.392.2211 (Phone)
352.392.3005 (Fax)