Constitutional Law,
9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Oct. 1, 2010
Tattoo Parlors: Protected by First Amendment, Not Accepted by Society
Considered eyesores from a municipal standpoint, why did the 9th Circuit give tattoo parlors full First Amendment rights?
Charles S. Doskow
Dean Emeritus and Professor of Law, University of La Verne College of Law
Email: dosklaw@aol.com
Harvard Law School
Charles is a past president of the Inland Empire Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, and in 2012 was awarded the chapter's Erwin Chemerinsky Defender of the Constitution award.
First Amendment protection of free speech turns up in some odd places. Recent cases have protected videos of animal cruelty, picketing of military funerals and corporate expenditures to promote campaign hit pieces. When legislative bodies punish or prevent unpopular speech, the courts have stepped in, giving full force to the First Amendment's words "Congress shall make no laws abridging the freedom of speech...."
But tattoo parlors? The most recent blow for freedom of exp...For only $95 a month (the price of 2 article purchases)
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