Lee v. Tam Legal Primer

First Amendment primer Assuming that the law applies to speech: Is the law “content-based”? If the law applies to speech about “Topic X” or does it have “Characteristic X”, whoever applies the law must make a content-based determination about the speech. Is the law “viewpoint-based”? Does the law treat some speech differently than other speech because of the viewpoint on the topic or characteristic being expressed?

First Amendment primer If the law suppresses or burdens speech because of content - “strict scrutiny” applies Government must show a ”compelling interest” in regulating and must have “narrowly tailored” the rule to be the least speech-restrictive alternative available

First Amendment primer Permissible types of content-based laws: Government speech – the government can choose not to say something based on its content because the government is a speaker not a regulator of others’ speech Government subsidies – Similarly, the government can choose who’s speech to promote with public benefits, subject to certain constraints Cannot be viewpoint based Cannot impose “unconstitutional conditions” that coerce speakers who want access to government benefits Commercial speech - E.g. speech that proposes a sale or transaction (advertising, labeling) Then “intermediate scrutiny” applies. Government interest must be “important” and the choice of regulation must be “substantially related” to furthering that interest.