Viewpoint discrimination

Viewpoint discrimination is a concept in United States jurisprudence related to the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. If a speech act is treated differently by a government entity based on the viewpoint it expresses, this is considered viewpoint discrimination.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]}

Cases

In the Albanese case, Judge Richard Leon accepted, among other things, the arguments of those^[9] who considered it likely that the sanctions against Francesca Albanese were motivated by her political opinions: the judge stated that “Albanese has done nothing more than speak”^[10].

See also

• Political bias
• Political repression
• Political violence

References

1. Bloom, Lackland H. (September 2019). "The Rise of the Viewpoint-Discrimination Principle". SMU Law Review Forum. 72 (1): 20–40. doi:10.25172/slrf.72.1.3.
2. Kelso, R. Randall (17 December 2019). "Clarifying Viewpoint Discrimination in Free Speech Doctrine". Indiana Law Review. 52 (3): 355–430. doi:10.18060/23837. SSRN 3360691.
3. Ferrucci, David N. (26 June 2017). "'Giving Offense is a Viewpoint': Supreme Court Holds It Is Viewpoint Discrimination To Deny Trademark Protection For Allegedly Offensive Marks". National Law Review.
4. "Viewpoint Discrimination". The Free Speech Center.
5. "Viewpoint Discrimination in Free Speech Cases". Civil Liberties and Civil Rights in the United States. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
6. Boggs, Danny (7 December 2015). "A Differing View on Viewpoint Discrimination". University of Chicago Legal Forum. 1993 (1).
7. Post, Robert (September 2007). "Viewpoint Discrimination and Commercial Speech". Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review. 41 (1): 169–180. hdl:20.500.13051/4154. CORE output ID 267172516.
8. Douglas, Maura (2018). "Finding Viewpoint Neutrality in Our Constitutional Constellation". University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law. 20 (3): 727.
9. Louis Jacobson, Trump visa policy chills free speech, lawyer for journalists, researchers tells federal judge, Politifact May 13, 2026.
10. Federal judge blocks US sanctions against UN expert on occupied Palestinian territories, Guardian, 14 May 2026.

Further reading

• Heins, Marjorie (1996). "Viewpoint Discrimination". UC Law Constitutional Quarterly. 24 (1): 99.
• Bloom, Lackland H. (September 2019). "The Rise of the Viewpoint-Discrimination Principle". SMU Law Review Forum. 72 (1): 20–40. doi:10.25172/slrf.72.1.3.