For those of you who aren't a big fan of our current President, you may want to think twice before offering any criticism. As part of his attack on his critics, President Donald Trump has found a kindred spirit in Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who wants to revisit the ruling of a court case that determined how critics of the government shall be dealt with. The court case, New York Times vs. Sullivan, had the Times pitted against city commissioner L. B. Sullivan for inaccurately criticizing some authorities in Montgomery, Alabama, and while the original case had Sullivan as the winner, the Supreme Court unanimously reversed this decision and declared that criticisms against the government, no matter how false, are protected by the First Amendment. By undoing this reversal, Thomas will be giving Trump, as well as most other governmental bodies, a legal means to go after all of their critics, creating a huge amount of risk when it comes to criticizing the government. Thankfully, no other Supreme Court Justice has joined Thomas in his concerns, so the Sullivan ruling will stay intact, but the fact that a Supreme Court Justice is considering overturning that case ruling is a chilling thought to behold.
Here is a link to an article on Thomas' decision.
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