Participated in an amicus brief (with the Reporters Committee and other amici) filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in Arkansas Times v. Waldrip. The Arkansas Times, an alternative newsweekly, challenged the constitutionality of an Arkansas statute that prohibits public entities in the state from engaging in a boycott of Israel, or from contracting with any provider unless the provider signs a certification that it is not participating in such a boycott. The Times lost an advertising contract with a state college when it refused to sign a certification. The brief argues that the mere possibility of self-censorship caused by the statute is enough to violate the First Amendment. The brief also notes that the retaliatory withdrawal of advertising from a newspaper violates the First Amendment. The brief highlights the danger of states using economic regulations to interfere with the editorial independence of the press. [2019]
