Matthew Schafer

@matthewschafer.bsky.social

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First Amendment Lawyer; Adjunct law prof Fordham Law; Scholarship: http://shorturl.at/bhsv7

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Matthew Schafer

As our former overlords go to the polls today, a fun fact: the first time a UK government fell on a vote of no confidence was when Parliament voted to end the war with America, causing Lord North and the Cabinet to resign. It was an important milestone for British democracy, ironically enough.

My rare book dealer does not mess around...

July 4 story: This book is one of 50 snuck out of Philadelphia and hidden in the countryside west of Philadelphia as the British approached. It contains one of the first official printings (1777) of the Declaration of Independence. It looks different than you might expect. 🧵

It's Friday, so another part of the free-press collection: A *very rare* 1766 first printing (!) of the repeal of the Stamp Act of 1765. The act taxed paper, including newspapers. Arguably, it was the Stamp Act that, more than anything, lit the spark of the Revolution.

Solum gives my new article a "Highly recommended." I hope you have a chance to read it. lsolum.typepad.com/legaltheory/...

I just posted a new article on @SSRN: "the Press": A Response to Professor Volokh It draws into doubt @VolokhC's influential view that the Press Clause at the Founding meant only the right to use the printing press. I hope you have the opportunity to read it. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

"the Press": A Response to Professor Volokhpapers.ssrn.com For more than a decade, Professor Eugene Volokh's article-Freedom For The Press As An Industry, Or For The Press As A Technology? From The Framing To Today-has

Schafer on Volokh on Freedom of the Presslsolum.typepad.com Matthew Schafer (Fordham University School of Law) has posted "the Press": A Response to Professor Volokh on SSRN. Here is the abstract: For more than a decade, Professor Eugene Volokh's article-Freed...

I've spent untold hours reading through hundreds of newspaper articles about press freedom at the Founding. I just published some early results. I hope you read it. As Original As Apple Pie: The Reporter’s Privilege at the Founding matthewschafer.medium.com/as-original-...

As Original As Apple Pie: The Reporter’s Privilege at the Foundingmatthewschafer.medium.com A new review of the historical record suggests that many at the Founding understood liberty of the press to protect printers from compelled…

Check out this wild story about one of my favorite books in my collection

The Books George Washington Saved from the British As the British approached Philadelphia, patriots snuck books, containing an early copy of the Declaration of Independence, out of the city and hid them in the countryside. Washington saved them. matthewschafer.medium.com/the-books-ge...

The Books George Washington Saved from the Britishmatthewschafer.medium.com As the British approached Philadelphia, patriots snuck books, containing an early copy of the Declaration of Independence, out of the city…

New from me about SCOTUS' willingness to toss out the overbreadth doctrine in Moody v. Netchoice: The Court Might Gut a Key First Amendment Doctrine. Few Even Noticed. matthewschafer.medium.com/the-court-mi...

The Court Might Gut a Key First Amendment Doctrine. Few Even Noticed.matthewschafer.medium.com In a little-noticed exchange, multiple Justices considered doing away with a doctrine that makes it easier to invalidate unconstitutional…

So when does it become a problem?

Medium's daily newsletter says you should read me and then read that other guy (*checks notes*)... the former President of the United States. blog.medium.com/its-national...

Tell me you have a draft law review article due in a week without telling me...

Here is Winterbotham's America (1795). It contains one of the earliest maps of DC. He wrote it from prison in London after giving sermons in favor of the French Revolution. He was sentenced for sedition. The book contains tons of early maps and covers the political but also things like nature.

Here's a fun one... A copy of the US laws between the proposal of the Bill of Rights and its adoption... 1791

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Matthew Schafer

Trump's many lawsuits alleging defamation, which have more or less uniformly proved unsuccessful, are here accurately described as a "campaign of lawfare against media outlets."

Trump files defamation lawsuit against ABC for saying he was found liable for rape instead of sexual assaultreason.com The former president filed the suit against ABC News for claiming he was found liable for rape, when in fact it was technically sexual assault.

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Matthew Schafer

New: Conservative 5th Circuit Judges James Ho and Edith Jones have issued statements criticizing the Judicial Conference's new rule that would curb the practice of "judge shopping" used by Republican litigants to challenge Biden policies. www.reuters.com/legal/govern...

From a recent Massachusetts anti-slapp decision. Normalize flow charts in judicial opinions.

The dissent in this annoying case said that the First Amendment was first for a reason. This annoyed me so I had to write something about it after work. matthewschafer.medium.com/pornography-...

Age verification laws were ruled unconstitutional (twice) in the 1990s. But the 5th Circuit says...they're great! My now long running joke about how the 1st Amendment applies*....continues. *except in Texas

Texas can require age-verification on porn sites, 5th Circuit judges rulearstechnica.com One judge dissents, saying Texas law "limits adults' access to protected speech."

Pornography, Texas, and the Origin Myth of the First Amendmentmatthewschafer.medium.com Contrary to popular belief, the Founders did not put the First Amendment first because it was the most important.

Can we *PLEASE* dispense with the idea that the First Amendment is first because it was the most important. I hate to yell but IT'S NOT TRUE. When Madison introduced the amendments, speech and press were third and fourth. And, another press clause was like nine paragraphs below those.

Texas can require age-verification on porn sites, 5th Circuit judges rulearstechnica.com One judge dissents, saying Texas law "limits adults' access to protected speech."

In the category of mildly interesting, note the distribution of mentions of press freedom in early colonial and American newspapers from a dataset I'm working in.

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Matthew Schafer

In only two days, we'll mark the 60th anniversary of NYT v Sullivan and Abernathy v Sullivan, two cases, decided together, that were both landmark free speech and civil rights victories. (And just one of Abernathy plaintiff Fred Shuttlesworth's SCOTUS wins on that day.) www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...

The Inextricable Link Between Modern Free Speech Law and the Civilwww.eff.org No excuse is needed to celebrate the civil rights icon Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth. But this weekend is an especially appropriate time to recognize his contributions to First Amendment jurisprudence, and

CJ Roberts had an easy opportunity to kill two birds: -Keep Trump on the ballot. -Do it with a five vote majority with the liberals, letting the cons write a Rehnquist-like concurring opinion. It would've bolstered the Court's credibility. But he didn't do it. That's striking.

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Matthew Schafer

Do please fuck right off with this.

Conventionally decorous fascism is apparently preferable to a chaotic and complicated Republic.

It should not have to be this way!

Attending a Supreme Court argument is an endurance sport.

Sometimes when you order books from abroad they look like drugs but luckily clear customs. In fact, this was a contemporaneous account of the Stamp Act of 1765...

A reminder that the Supreme Court could livestream video of the Netchoice arguments today. It is not doing so though because it has contempt for the public and loathes accountability and transparency. matthewschafer.medium.com/truly-what-a...

Truly, what are we doing here?matthewschafer.medium.com On Thursday, the Supreme Court live-streamed oral argument audio of the Trump/Colorado ballot case. Where’s the video?

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Matthew Schafer

Happening right in front of us www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

So this was a pretty awesome bookstore hopping day-off endeavor... Found a set of 18th century Dallas Reports. The first reports of the Supreme Court.

I had not internalized this footnote in Branzburg before... A seventeenth century bro code