“In the national debate about a serious issue, it is the expression of the minority's viewpoint that most demands the protection of the First Amendment. Whatever the better policy may be, a full and frank discussion of the costs and benefits of the attempt to prohibit the use of marijuana is far wiser than suppression of speech because it is unpopular.” FirstsMayUseIssuesPolicySeriousExpressionCostDemandSpeechBenefitsProtectionDebateDiscussionMinoritiesMarijuanaAmendmentsFrankFreedom Of SpeechWiserFirst AmendmentViewpointsSuppressionSerious Issues Author:John Paul Stevens
“But I really think it's a very unfortunate part of our judicial system and I would feel much, much better if more states would really consider whether they think the benefits outweigh the very serious potential injustice, because in these cases the emotions are very, very high on both sides and to have stakes as high as you do in these cases, there is a special potential for error. We cannot ignore the fact that in recent years a disturbing number of inmates on death row have been exonerated.” IfsThinkingFeelsYearsHas BeensStatesFactsSidesNumbersEmotionCasesSpecialSeriousBenefitsErrorsInjusticeStakesUnfortunateBoth SidesDisturbingJudicialInmatesDeath RowJudicial System Author:John Paul Stevens
“As a matter of constitutional tradition, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, we presume that governmental regulation of the content of speech is more likely to interfere with the free exchange of ideas than to encourage it. The interest in encouraging freedom of expression in a democratic society outweighs any theoretical but unproven benefit of censorship.” IdeasMatterGovernmentInterestExpressionSpeechBenefitsEvidenceTraditionDemocraticAbsenceContraryCensorshipRegulationInterfereTheoreticalFreedom Of ExpressionDemocratic Society Author:John Paul Stevens
“The interest in encouraging freedom of expression in a democratic society outweighs any theoretical but unproven benefit of censorship.” InterestExpressionInternetBenefitsDemocraticCensorshipFree SpeechTheoreticalFreedom Of ExpressionDemocratic Society Author:John Paul Stevens
