Wednesday, June 02, 2021

State Action and My "House Rules"


                                                 The Universal Symbol For Choking

 

Suppose I throw a faculty cocktail party at my home and Denicola shows up wearing a New York Yankee Hat. When I greet him at the door, I inform him that if he wishes to come in he must take off his Yankee hat and leave it in his car. He refuses to remove the hat, and when I ask him to leave my property he declines. I call the LPD and Officer Friendly arrests Denicola for trespass. 

At his criminal trial, does Denicola have a 1A Freedom of Speech claim, based upon my viewpoint-based house rules forbidding Yankee hats or Yankee clothing? Why or why not?

But now assume Denicola pickets on the sidewalk in front of my house saying very mean things about the Red Sox and about the eternal damnation of people who support the Red Sox. I sue him for the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress and recover $100,000 for the emotional damage he has caused me. Does Denicola have a Free Speech defense against this speech-restricting tort claim?

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