Ballot Access: Constitutionality of Residency Requirements for Ballot Initiative-Petition Circulators

Author: Maxel Moreland, Associate Member, University of Cincinnati Law Review The Sixth Circuit recently reviewed a case regarding an Ohio statute that required initiative-petition circulators to reside in the state of Ohio.[1] The district court declared the law unconstitutional, and the issue of a residency requirement for circulators was not challenged on appeal.[2] Although not... Continue Reading →

The First Amendment: Does the Government’s Intent Matter?

Author: Brooke Logsdon, Associate Member, University of Cincinnati Law Review The Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments on the political speech case, Heffernan v. City of Paterson.[1] The case involved Officer Heffernan, who was demoted from his position as a detective because his department believed that he was supporting the adverse mayoral candidate.[2] More specifically,... Continue Reading →

Tattoo Rights Inked Into The Constitution: Why Tattoos Are Protected Speech Under the First Amendment

Author: Jordie Bacon, Associate Member, University of Cincinnati Law Review Tattoos often portray significant moments in a person’s life, mark rites of passage, show religious devotion, or express feelings towards others. Getting a tattoo allows someone to make “permanent that which is fleeting.”[1] Tattoos, which at one point were seen as a seedy tradition of... Continue Reading →

Limits on Judicial Elections: A Thing of the Past?

Author: Andrea Flaute, Associate Member, University of Cincinnati Law Review From basic speech restrictions to an outright prohibition on personally solicited campaign funds, judicial candidates, prior to the decisions in Republican Party of Minnesota v. White and Williams-Yulee v. Florida Bar, lacked the basic leeway given to every other candidate to control their campaign.[1] In... Continue Reading →

Specialty License Plates as Government Speech: How the Supreme Court Is Likely to Resolve a Five-Way Circuit Split

Author: Rebecca Dussich, Associate Member, University of Cincinnati Law Review Currently, all fifty states in the U.S. require vehicles to be registered and fitted with a unique license plate. Historically, these plates were generic and distinguishable only by the series of letters and numbers used to identify the owner of the vehicle. However, with time,... Continue Reading →

Restricting Content Without Restricting Content: Is Springfield’s Anti-Panhandling Ordinance Truly “Content-Neutral?”

Author: Collin L. Ryan, Associate Member, University of Cincinnati Law Review Springfield, Illinois enacted an ordinance that prohibits panhandling within the city’s downtown historical district—an area that comprises “less than 2% of the City’s area but contain[s] its principal shopping, entertainment, and governmental areas, including the Statehouse and many state-government buildings.”[1] “The ordinance defines panhandling,... Continue Reading →

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