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United States
free speechoverbreadthunprotected categories
United States v. Stevens
559 U. S. 460 (2010)
Key Principle
Depictions of animal cruelty are not a categorically unprotected class of speech, and courts may not create new categories of unprotected expression through an ad hoc balancing of the speech's value against its societal costs; a statute criminalizing such depictions that is substantially overbroad is facially invalid under the First Amendment.
Area of Law
General
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