FISSURES, FRACTURES & DOCTRINAL DRIFTS: PAYING THE PRICE IN FIRST AMENDMENT JURISPRUDENCE FOR A HALF DECADE OF AVOIDANCE, MINIMALISM & PARTISANSHIP

This Article comprehensively examines how the U.S. Supreme Court?s adherence to principles of constitutional avoidance and judicial minimalism, along with partisan rifts among the Justices, have detrimentally affected multiple First Amendment doctrines over the past five years. The doctrines analyzed here include true threats, broadcast indecency, offensive expression, government speech, and strict scrutiny, as well as the fundamental dichotomy between content-based and contentneutral regulations.