First Amendment Research Reports
Commercial Speech | Economic Liberty | First Amendment
Standards of Identity and Imitation Milk Labeling
The stated motivation for identity standards is to protect consumers from misleading claims and reduce confusion. However, identity standards with little flexibility may increase consumer confusion while limiting the ability of firms to differentiate products.
Commercial Speech | Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Food Freedom | Food Freedom
Censorship and Sensibility: Does the First Amendment Allow the FDA to Change the Meanings of Words?
The question of whether the Constitution allows the government to change the meanings of words is receiving renewed interest in the aftermath of the FDA’s announcement that it intends to examine whether it should begin…
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech | Vending
Bottleneckers: The Origins of Occupational Licensing and What Can Be Done About Its Excesses
At this moment, a campaign is being waged in America’s state capitals. Its purpose? To protect the public from the menace of unregulated music therapists. A music therapist “directs and participates in instrumental and vocal…
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech | Vending
Bottleneckers: Gaming the Government for Power and Private Profit
The Left, Right and Center all hate them: powerful special interests who use government power for their own private benefit. In an era when the Left hates “fat cats” and the Right despises “crony capitalists,” now there…
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech
Putting Licensing to the Test
More Americans than ever need a license to work. But what do occupational licenses actually accomplish? This case study of one such license adds to a growing body of research that suggests this red tape…
First Amendment | Occupational Speech | Tour Guides
Occupational Speech and the First Amendment
In May 2013, newspaper columnist John Rosemond received a cease-and-desist letter from the Kentucky Board of Examiners of Psychology informing him that his syndicated column — in which he answers readers’ questions about parenting —…
First Amendment | Political Speech
Information at the Margin: Campaign Finance Disclosure Laws, Ballot Issues, and Voter Knowledge
All 24 states that permit voters to cast ballots directly on policy matters also require that contributions and expenditures on ballot issue campaigns be disclosed publicly. Scholars assert that information about the financial involvement of…
First Amendment | Political Speech
Full Disclosure
Publicly disclosing contributions to ballot issue campaigns does little to help voters make better choices—and instead imposes substantial costs on people wishing to participate in politics.
First Amendment | Political Speech
Publicly Funded Elections Infringe on Candidates’ First Amendment Rights
Suggested citation: Primo, D. M. (2011). Publicly funded elections infringe on candidates’ First Amendment rights. In N. G. Dziedzic (Ed.), Election Spending (Opposing Viewpoints Series, pp. 74–83). Greenhaven Press.
First Amendment | Political Speech
Keep Out
Campaign-finance laws protect political insiders by making it harder for upstart citizen groups to form and bring new voices to public debate.
First Amendment | Political Speech
What Does Research Say About Public Funding for Political Campaigns?
The best available evidence suggests that funding political campaigns with public dollars does little to reduce special interest influence, encourage competitive races or boost political participation.
First Amendment | Political Speech
Mowing Down the Grassroots
Grassroots lobbying—encouraging citizens to contact public officials in order to affect public policy—is quintessential representative democracy in action. However, as this report documents, sweeping lobbying laws in 36 states threaten to strangle grassroots movements in…
First Amendment
The Regulation of Grassroots Lobbying
President Obama’s domestic policies have generated opposition among many in the general public and mobilized previously uninvolved citizens. This opposition has manifested itself in public rallies, “tea party” protests, and spirited feedback at town hall…
First Amendment
Attack Ballot Issue Disclosure Root and Branch
For years, the lower federal and many state courts have given short shrift to the First Amendment rights of those who wish to contribute money to groups that advocate the passage or defeat of ballot…
First Amendment | Political Speech
Politics for Professionals Only: Ballot Measures, Campaign Finance “Reform,” and the First Amendment
When Scott Eckern donated money to an election committee, little did he know that it would cost him his job of 25 years. Eckern had worked successfully as the artistic director of the California Musical…
First Amendment | Political Speech
Locking Up Political Speech
Americans were once free to speak about politics without asking permission from the government or being forced to document their political activities for the authorities. But under the guise of “campaign finance reform,” government regulation…
First Amendment | Political Speech
Mandatory disclosure for ballot initiative campaigns
This research examines some of the assumptions inherent in discussions of campaign-finance disclosure laws as they relate to ballot issues. Specifically, it tests the theory that mandatory disclosure contributes to “better” (that is, more informed)…
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Interior Design | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech
Designed to Exclude
Americans used to be free to practice interior design work and succeed or fail based solely on their skills. But, to the detriment of consumers and would-be entrepreneurs, that is changing. The American Society of…
First Amendment
Davis v. FEC and the Constitutionality of “Clean Elections” Systems
In a “clean elections” system, taxpayer funded candidates must agree to limit their campaign spending. Imposing limits on campaign spending for candidates who forego taxpayer dollars and instead run traditional campaigns would be unconstitutional. Most…
First Amendment
SpeechNow.org and the Paradox of Buckley v. Valeo
The right to free speech, including the right to speak out about who should be elected to public office, is a fundamental American right, essential to democratic debate. So, too, is the right of individuals…
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Interior Design | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech
Designed to Mislead
Do people who design interiors “mislead” the public when they call themselves “interior designers” without government permission? Industry insiders advocating greater regulation say yes, but practicing interior designers who simply want to accurately describe what…
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Interior Design | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech
Misinformation & Interior Design Regulation
This report responds to a purported rebuttal of the Institute for Justice’s research on interior design regulations and details how its author, an advocate of increased regulation, fails to provide any evidence of the need…
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Interior Design | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech
Designing Cartels Through Censorship
Business interests sometimes use titling laws – laws establishing who can use professional titles – as a form of occupational regulation to restrict entry. Such laws allow practitioners to provide services without a license, but…
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Interior Design | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech
Designing Cartels
This report examines titling laws, little-known regulations that require people practicing certain professions to gain government permission to use a specific title, such as “interior designer,” to describe their work. Although titling laws receive little…
First Amendment | Political Speech
Campaign Finance Red Tape
Twenty-four states permit citizens to make laws directly through ballot measures. These states also regulate how citizens—if they band together—may speak out about them. In the name of “disclosure,” these regulations impose complicated registration and…
First Amendment | Political Speech
Disclosure Costs
This study examines the impact of one of the most common features of campaign finance regulations: mandatory disclosure of contributions and contributors’ personal information. While scholars have looked at the effects of other kinds of…