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Florida Law Review Forum

Minch Minchin

The Content-Neutrality Doctrine Still Works
Response to R. George Wright, Content-Neutral and Content-Based Regulations of Speech: A Distinction That Is No Longer Worth the Fuss

In a recent piece in the Florida Law Review, however, Indiana University of Law Professor R. George Wright calls for a more drastic approach: that courts should completely abandon content-neutrality. In responding to Professor Wright’s quintet of contentions, this response proceeds as follows: Part I provides context by briefly describing the content-neutrality doctrine and the judicial standards of intermediate and strict scrutiny. Part II analyzes each of Professor Wright’s arguments and suggests that, although they individually are technically accurate, taken together, they lack sufficient justification to jettison content-neutrality. Part III concludes by conceding that although the doctrine is certainly flawed, the most prudent course is to carefully mend it, not cast it into the constitutional dustbin. Read more.