Compelled speech
The examples and perspective in this article's body section deal primarily with the English-speaking world and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (November 2019) |
Compelled speech is a transmission of expression required by law. A related legal concept is protected speech. Just as freedom of speech protects free expression, in many cases it similarly protects an individual from being required to utter or otherwise express a thought with which that individual disagrees.
Canada
Freedom of expression is a fundamental freedom under Section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Supreme Court of Canada has interpreted this right as including "the right to say nothing or the right not to say certain things."[1] In RJR-MacDonald Inc v Canada (AG), tobacco companies successfully challenged legislation requiring them to include unattributed health warnings on packaging. In Lavigne v Ontario Public Service Employees Union, the Court held that mandatory union membership and dues, some of which were used for purposes the union member disagreed with, did not violate his right to freedom of expression. In Slaight Communications Inc. v Davidson,[2] the Court held that a requirement to provide a reference letter for a former employee who was unjustly dismissed did infringe the employer's freedom of expression, but this infringement was upheld as a reasonable limitation under section 1 of the Charter.[3] In 2021, Polish-Canadian pastor Artur Pawlowski was ordered by a court to inform his audience of the established opinions of medical experts regarding COVID-19 when expressing his views on the topic in a public setting. The requirement was a part of his probation conditions, which he had been placed on as a sentence for contempt of court, after he violated a court order requiring him to obey public health restrictions.[4][5][6] However, the sentence was overturned on appeal.[7]
United Kingdom
Scotland
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During The Killing Time of the 1680s an Abjuration Oath could be put to suspects where they were given the option to abjure or renounce their allegiances. The terms of the oath were deliberately designed to offend the consciences of the Presbyterian Covenanters. Those who would not swear "whether they have arms, or not" could be "immediately killed" by field trial "before two witnesses" on a charge of high treason.[8] John Brown was included among those executed in this judicial process by John Graham, 1st Viscount Dundee (Bluidy Clavers) on 1 May 1685.[9] The wives and children of such men could also be put out of their houses if they had spoken to the suspect or refused the oath themselves. 18-year-old Margaret Wilson and 63-year-old Margaret McLaughlan were killed "without human hand" when they were drowned in the sea for refusing to take the Abjuration Oath.[10]
United States
Examples currently in litigation
- Compelling Amazon's Whole Foods to, per Amazon's filing, "favor certain expressions of political speech over others in its retail grocery stores."[11]
Examples supported by law
- Requiring a cable system to carry local stations – Turner Broadcasting v. FCC (1994)
- Mandatory university fees that support groups with which other students disagree – Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System v. Southworth (2000)
- Mandatory fees on agricultural products to support advertising – Johanns v. Livestock Marketing Association (2005)
- Subpoenas to companies compelling testimony that may be self-incriminatory[12]
- Filing a tax return[12]
- Surgeon’s General warnings on alcohol and tobacco products[12]
Examples not supported by law
- Saluting the flag or reciting the Pledge of Allegiance – West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943)
- Requiring a newspaper to publish an advertisement – Miami Herald v. Tornillo (1974)
- School attendance past the eighth grade – Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)
- Motto on license plate – Wooley v. Maynard (1977)[13]
- Compelled self-incrimination by an individual – Fifth Amendment (1789)
- Certain disclosures by organizations that offer limited services to pregnant women - National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra (2018)[14]
Government speech
A government of, by, and for the people also speaks on behalf of its people. The government is not required to express views held by groups in the population.
- A state may choose not to offer a license plate with a particular message – Walker v. Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans (2015)[15]
- A city may accept a donation of statue from one religious group and refuse to accept one from another – Pleasant Grove City v. Summum (2009)
References
- ↑ RJR-MacDonald Inc. v Canada (Attorney General), [1995] 3 SCR 199.
- ↑ Slaight Communications Inc. v Davidson, [1989] 1 SCR 1038.
- ↑ Bowal, Peter (2019-07-04). "Compelled Expression". LawNow. Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
- ↑ Brown, Jon (October 16, 2021). "Canadian pastor defiant as judge orders him to parrot 'medical experts' from pulpit: 'I will not obey'". Fox News.
- ↑ Grant, Meghan (Oct 13, 2021). "Anti-mask activists ordered by Calgary judge to preach science, too". CBC News. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
- ↑ Grant, Meghan (2021-06-28). "Alberta pastor, brother, café owner guilty of contempt for breaking COVID-19 health rules". CBC News. Retrieved 2022-07-24.
- ↑ Dryden, Joel (2022-07-22). "Alberta appeal court sets aside contempt sanctions against pastor, brother and cafe owner". CBC News. Retrieved 2022-07-24.
- ↑ Wodrow, Robert (1832). The history of the sufferings of the Church of Scotland from the Restoration to the Revolution (Vol IV ed.). Glasgow: Blackie. pp. 154–155. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
- ↑ Terry, Charles Sanford (1905). John Graham of Claverhouse, viscount of Dundee, 1648-1689. London: A. Constable. p. 197. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
- ↑ McCrie, Charles Greig (1893). The Free Church of Scotland : her ancestry, her claims, and her conflicts. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark. pp. 50–51. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
- ↑ "Whole Foods says its First Amendment rights will be violated if it's forced to allow employees to wear Black Lives Matter insignia". www.msn.com. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Frankel, Alison (April 24, 2017). "When the government can make businesses talk". Reuters. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
- ↑ Nolan, Mike (February 24, 2017). "Orland Park vehicle sticker with Blue Lives Matter symbol stirs debate". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
- ↑ Pomeranz, J. L. (March 2019). "Abortion Disclosure Laws and the First Amendment: The Broader Public Health Implications of the Supreme Court's Becerra Decision". Am J Public Health. 109 (3): 412–418. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2018.304871. PMC 6366505. PMID 30676798.
- ↑ Bravin, Jess (23 June 2015). "Governors Seek to Curb Confederate Flag License Plates: Moves follow Charleston mass killing, Supreme Court ruling". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 16 March 2019.