During the summer of 1919, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis changed his mind about free speech.
Earlier that year, he voted to uphold the conviction of Charles Schenck for opposing the military draft. A year later, he was the lone dissenter in a case dealing with nearly the same issue. In 1927, he wrote what some consider to be the greatest defense of free speech ever penned by a Supreme Court justice in the case Whitney v. California.
Why did Brandeis change his mind?
On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we explore the life and legacy of Brandeis with National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen. Last year, Rosen wrote the book “Louis D. Brandeis: American Prophet,” which explains how Brandeis came to be one of free speech’s most eloquent advocates.
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- Here is a link to the Riley v. California (2014) phone wallpaper that Rosen and I discuss during the podcast.