Professor Brownstein Addresses Idea That all Protests of Government Merit Special Consideration

In a May 23 op-ed in The Hill, Professor Emeritus Alan Brownstein explored the argument that protests challenging government action and decisions, whether protected speech or not, deserve special recognition and respect.

The argument “stands on somewhat shaky legs,” Brownstein notes. “It ignores far too much of our history to be an adequate account of the nature and role of protests in the U.S. over 250 years.”

Professor Brownstein, a nationally recognized constitutional law scholar, taught Constitutional Law, Law and Religion, and Torts at UC Davis School of Law for more than 30 years. Before his retirement from full-time teaching, he held the Boochever and Bird Endowed Chair for the Study and Teaching of Freedom and Equality.