Re-Reading the Riot Act
59 Pages Posted: 7 Sep 2021
Date Written: August 29, 2021
Abstract
This Article contends, contrary to the case law, that the federal Anti-Riot Act should be judged to be unconstitutional on its face, rather than merely as applied in particular circumstances. The focus herein is on the implications of the most appropriate free speech principles, including the continuing relevance of Brandenburg v. Ohio, and on the proper scope and limits of the congressional power to regulate interstate commerce. The tricky point, though, is that the argument below does not claim that there is any single, distinct respect in which the Anti-Riot Act is facially unconstitutional. Instead, the argument below is what is referred to as a "cumulative case" argument. Thus the argument brings together the joint, complementary, and mutually supplementing implications of several considerations, no single one of which, by itself, need establish the broad unconstitutionality of the Anti-Riot Act.
Keywords: Anti-Riot Act, free speech, Commerce Clause
JEL Classification: J13, J30
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation