Topics: Judges and Justices

• Abe Fortas

  Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas wrote several influential First Amendment opinions, including Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969...

• Alex Kozinski

  Alex Kozinski, a former judge on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, is well-known for his First Amendment writings in the areas of commercial speech and...

• Amy Coney Barrett

  Amy Coney Barrett was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court in October 2020 to fill a vacancy after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg died. Still new to the court, it...

• Anthony Kennedy

  Anthony Kennedy has frequently been the swing vote in First Amendment cases. He has tended to side with protections for free speech and accommodation on...

• Antonin Scalia

  Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia viewed First Amendment protections in a narrow fashion. He was a staunch conservative and viewed the Constitution as an...

• Arthur Goldberg

  Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg was a consistent vote for the protection of First Amendment freedoms, including in the landmark case New York Times Co. v...

• Benjamin Cardozo

  Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Cardozo authored many opinions that supported freedom of the press and free speech, which he viewed as the foundation of liberty...

• Brett Kavanaugh

  Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, confirmed in 2018, authored many First Amendment decisions while on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Among...

• Byron White

  Byron Raymond White was a Supreme Court justice whose First Amendment opinions tended to give less importance to press freedom and student speech concerns...

• Charles Hughes

  Charles Hughes was a Supreme Court justice twice. He supported relatively broad First Amendment protections while and helped preserve judicial independence...

• Clarence Thomas

  Justice Clarence Thomas has surprised observers with his independent vision on First Amendment issues, including questioning interpretations of the...

• Damon Keith

  Damon Keith was a long-serving judge on the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and an important figure in protecting civil rights. He authored many First...

• David Souter

  Supreme Court Justice David Souter often showed sensitivity to First Amendment values. He was a consistent voice for the protection of free-expression...

• Earl Warren

  Chief Justice Earl Warren's Court was known for rulings backing civil rights and a number of First Amendment milestones, including New York Times Co. v....

• Elena Kagan

  Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, known for her deep knowledge of First Amendment issues, has written opinions in many Supreme Court First Amendment cases...

• Felix Frankfurter

  While Justice Felix Frankfurter championed civil rights, he frequently voted to limit civil liberties and was not one of the great defenders of the First...

• Francis Murphy

  Supreme Court Justice Francis W. Murphy wrote eloquently about First Amendment freedoms, repeatedly voicing his belief that religious freedom deserved great...

• Frederick Vinson

  Supreme Court Chief Justice Frederick Vinson tended to favor national security over First Amendment freedom of speech, and was a moderate on race relations...

• Harlan Fiske Stone

  Harlan Fiske Stone served as an associate justice and chief justice on the Supreme Court, where he showed sensitivity to civil liberties and First Amendment...

• Harry Blackmun

  Harry Andrew Blackmun was an associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, best known for writing the majority opinion in Roe v. Wade that overturned most state...

• Hugo Black

  Supreme Court Justice Hugo Lafayette Black is considered to be one of the most influential justices of his time. On First Amendment issues, Black was considered...

• J. Skelly Wright

  James Skelly Wright was a highly respected federal judge who was perhaps best known for his impact on civil rights and desegregation, specifically in New...

• John Marshall

  Under John Marshall's leadership, the Court expanded the role of the national government and limited the reach of the First Amendment to actions of the national...

• John Marshall Harlan I

  Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan I transformed himself over time from being an advocate of slavery to becoming a strong defender of First Amendment...

• John Marshall Harlan II

  Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan II was an architect of First Amendment jurisprudence in obscenity law, freedom of association, expressive conduct,...

• John Paul Stevens

  Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens contributed mightily to First Amendment jurisprudence and seemingly became more speech-protective in his later years on...

• John Roberts Jr.

  Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has had an indelible impact on the First Amendment in his time on the Court. He has proven to be sensitive to First Amendment...

• Joseph Story

  Justice Joseph Story was arguably the greatest scholar ever to serve on the Supreme Court. His Court opinions and his writings reveal his perspective on First...

• Learned Hand

  Billings Learned Hand served as a federal district and appellate judge and had enormous influence on the law understanding in the United States, specifically...

• Lewis Powell Jr.

  Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. was conservative on matters of crime and law enforcement but liberal on First Amendment matters concerning separation...

• Louis Brandeis

  Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis defended the First Amendment and expressed that the best way to combat harmful speech is "more speech, not forced silence...

• Michael McConnell

  Michael W. McConnell is a scholar on issues relating to First Amendment religion issues. He has argued against extreme views of separation of church and state...

• Neil Gorsuch

  While his record on the Supreme Court has yet to be determined, Justice Neil Gorsuch showed sensitivity toward First Amendment issues while on the court of...

• Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

  Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes was a civil libertarian who protected the First Amendment from encroachments, particularly during and after World War I...

• Owen Roberts

  Supreme Court Justice Owen J. Roberts was known for protecting First Amendment freedoms and wrote several landmark decisions regarding protected free expression...

• Potter Stewart

  Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart had a mixed record in First Amendment cases but was often supportive of individual liberty in cases involving speech and...

• Richard Posner

  Richard Allen Posner, one of the most influential jurists and legal theorists in the United States today, has written numerous First Amendment opinions as an...

• Robert Jackson

  Robert Jackson, a Supreme Court justice from 1941 to 1954, believed strongly in separation of church and state and free speech protections First Amendment...

• Robert Sack

  As an attorney, Robert Sack, now a judge on the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, defended the press in libel and other cases relating to First Amendment freedoms...

• Roy Moore

  Roy Moore was a controversial chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court who gained notoriety for his conservative stances about the First Amendment issue of...

• Ruth Ginsburg

  The second woman to serve on the Supreme Court, Ruth Bader Ginsburg has interpreted the First Amendment to provide for a high degree of separation of church and...

• Samuel Alito Jr.

  Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has shown some sensitivity to religious liberty in First Amendment cases but his record on free speech cases has been...

• Sandra Day O'Connor

  Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court, was often a key swing vote known for her opinions in the area of religious liberty...

• Sonia Sotomayor

  Since her appointment to the Supreme Court in 2009, Justice Sonia Sotomayor generally has been a consistent defender of First Amendment values on the bench...

• Stanley Reed

  Stanley F. Reed was a Supreme Court justice from 1938-1957. He wrote several First Amendment opinions, in which he often sided with the government in...

• Stephen Breyer

  Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer generally decides First Amendment cases pragmatically rather than on the basis of rigid ideology, making his votes more...

• Thurgood Marshall

  Justice Thurgood Marshall was the first African-American to serve on the Supreme Court. He consistently championed First Amendment and other individual rights...

• Tom Clark

  Supreme Court Justice Tom C. Clark is probably best known in First Amendment jurisprudence for his measured opinion in Abington School District v. Schempp (1963...

• Warren Burger

  Chief Justice Warren Burger introduced the Lemon test for determining whether government actions violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment...

• William Brennan Jr.

  Supreme Court Justice William Brennan Jr. was an outspoken defender of the First Amendment freedoms of speech and the press against threats of government...

• William Douglas

  Justice William O. Douglas was one of the Court’s most controversial members as well as one of its most passionate defenders of individual freedoms and First...

• William Rehnquist

  Supreme Court Associate and Chief Justice William Rehnquist was not known as a defender of First Amendment rights, but he protective of some aspects of the...

• William Taft

  William Howard Taft is the only person to have served as both President and then chief justice of the United States. His Court began to apply the First...